Just Another Day in Zombieville
by JackFrostnDean
Summary: AU. THE BIG FOUR fanfic. When Jack, Rapunzel, Hiccup and Merida find themselves in the middle of a Zombie Apocalypse, there's trouble and utter chaos. Can they work together long enough to survive and figure out how to stop the zombies? And is everything really what it seems?
1. Prologue

**Just Another Day in Zombieville**

 **Summary:** AU. When Jack, Rapunzel, Hiccup and Merida find themselves in the middle of a Zombie Apocalypse, there's trouble and utter chaos. Can they work together long enough to survive and figure out how to stop the zombies? And is everything really what it seems?

 **Warning:** Slight swearing and a little gore (Typically anything you'd expect in a Zombie movie but nothing too extreme) Lol, I don't wanna scare my readers away now, do I?

 **Rated:** T

 **P.O.V:** General.

 **Genre:** Adventure, Horror, Suspense.

 **Beta:** Self-Beta'd… So any mistakes that you may find are my own ^_^; I ask for your forgiveness.

 **Disclaimer:** C'mon… If I owned even one of them, do you guys think I'd be here writing fanfics about 'em? -_- So, no… I don't own any of them. But I dream I do though J

 **A.N:** Okay, you guys! I've had this story sitting in my laptop for a long while now. Thought I'd bring it back out and finish and get it over with. In this story, our beloved big four don't exactly know each other but they will as the story progresses.

No Flames please! Flamers will be frozen solid and thrown off a cliff. You've been warned *Pitch's Evil Grin*

So without further ado - Here you guys go! Enjoy! ^_^

* * *

 ** _Prologue-_**

 _It was a very still and dark night… Peaceful, calm and quiet._

Nothing disturbed the tranquilly of the night except for the little cricking sounds made by the lone crickets.

 _Oh and… also the barring sounds of police sirens…_

A badly damaged car lay on its roof in a ditch, right outside of town in the forest.

A small groan escaped the lips of a certain young boy with silvery hair. The weak groaning noises that he made came from the driver's side of the car.

Jack gasped awake; jerking his crystal blue eyes wide open. It seemed like forever before he realised that he was upside down. _What the-_

Before any other thought entered his mind he felt a sharp pain shoot up his body. He whimpered as he realized the pain came from his left arm. It seemed dislocated at the elbow and was sitting at an odd angle. Agony coursed through his body when he tried moving it.

 _Yup, definitely dislocated…_

 _Oh God! What happened to him?_

 _Why was it so hard to think?_

His head felt like it was about to explode. He brought his right hand up to touch his head; where he felt the most pain. He drew his hand back and saw _blood…_

The crimson color was perfectly visible under the moon's bright light.

He glanced left and saw that the window had shattered; little splotches of blood smearing what was left of the glass… _His blood…_

He turned to his right slowly and painfully and his eyes widened when he saw the other person slumped lifelessly on the roof of the car; half of their body was outside the car; through the windshield.

Everything flooded back to him like a tidal wave…

 _They had been in an accident!_

 _…_ _And his passenger…_

Jack shut his eyes tight; tears leaking from them and trailing down his temples to the roof of the car. He didn't want to spare another glance at the corpse that lay next to him…

 _It was his fault!_

 _Oh god! How could this have happened?_

Jack willed himself to get a grip when he heard the sounds of sirens getting louder. He wasn't firing on all cylinders at the moment but something told him that he had to get outta there.

He fumbled with the seat-belt that held him to his seat. It had saved his life; if it wasn't for the leather strap he was sure he would ended up like his passenger— _Dead._

It was hard to concentrate and even harder to get his functioning hand to work properly. But he finally was able to undo the seat-belt and fell on the roof of the car with a heavy thud.

He couldn't help but scream when it sent a sharp jolt up his injured arm. It didn't help his concussion either.

His whole body screamed in agony. But Jack knew he couldn't stop now; _shouldn't stop._ He slowly and carefully crawled out of the broken window and made it outside the car; hissing and grimacing in pain all the while.

He could see the bright red and blue lights flashing from just over the forest's ledge. He had no time to rest, though he was beyond exhausted and just wanted to collapse right then and there.

He didn't know what would become of him if he got caught now.

He forced his legs under him and limped to the nearest tree and slumped against it. He had to catch his breath; for just a moment at least. The full moon shone its light on the boy's tattered frame _. Almost as if it was trying to comfort him._ His usually snowy white hair was matted with drying blood. The shirt he wore was ripped near the neck and arm and hung loosely from his hurt shoulder. His left arm hung limply by his side. He couldn't move it; not that he would if he could anyway. He glanced one last time behind him at the _other person._

The corpse's head was bent in an odd angle; that's probably what caused the death; its eyes open and vacant, mouth agape in a silent scream.

Jack shut his eyes once more as tears welled up in them. _It was all his fault!_ A person was dead because of him.

Jack limped deeper into the thick forest; cradling his injured arm, just as he heard panicked yells and loud voices coming from the dreadful ghastly scene he had left behind.

* * *

So that's it for this short prologue. I assure you the actual chapter are a lot longer. I already have a few typed out.  
I'll be updating regularly every Saturday/Sunday.

See you all next week!  
Please do leave me a **review** and let me know what you guys think!  
 **Thank You!** Byeee!


	2. Chapter 1

**A.N:** Alright guys. Here's the new update. This is where it alllllll begins. So it's time to put on your seatbelt (Lol, pun totally intended) and enjoy the ride.

* * *

 **Chapter 1: The Beginning-My First Encounter**

 ** _One year and two months later-_**

Jack sat in the corner of the room, on one of those rock hard benches that hurt your butt if you sit on them for too long. He sat there with his right leg drawn up to his chest; his right hand draped lazily over it while his other leg dangled down freely.

He hid his face under his hood; _just like he always did_. It was more out of pure habit than anything else. He leaned back and rested his head on the wall behind him and breathed in a deep sigh.

He was at the police station… _again_. His uncle's gonna be pissed this time for sure and he'll probably ground him too; _just like last time_ … and the time before that… and the time before _that._

Jack pulled out his left hand slowly from his hoodie pocket and inspected it. His knuckles were covered with bruises and blood. He was sure his other hand looked pretty much the same. Not all of the blood was his though. He bunched and flexed his fingers. It didn't hurt as much but it still stung a little. Jack snorted _'Yeah, breaking noses and cheek bones will do that to you._ ' In his defense, the dude totally deserved it. Not that anybody else cared. In their eyes Jack was the bad guy, end of story… that's all everybody sees these days _'Might as well act the part.'_ Heck, they might as well blame him for all the disappearances that have been going on lately. The rumors surly do even though he had absolutely _nothing_ to do with them.

The sound of keys jiggling and the familiar creak of the barred metal door which belonged to his temporary prison brought Jack out of his thoughts. He stood up from the accursed metal bench and pocketed his hands and walked up to the guard who stood next to door. The guard sneered at him. "You know the drill, Frost."

Jack didn't even bother making eye contact or giving any indication that he even heard the man. Jack hated this cop… Well, he hated all cops in general but this one, he despised. The cop had a tummy that Jack was sure would explode one day; _someday soon hopefully_. He was a lot older than the other cops in the department. His hair was all greyed out. Jack was amazed the man still had any hair at all. The silver haired teen growled low in his throat as the cop shoved him from behind. They both reached the man's desk.

 _Jeff Barnes_ -that was the fat cop's name. Jack had heard one of his cop buddies call him that on one of his first days here at the police station. Jeff had also taken some sort of a personal disliking to Jack; though he could never figure out why that was. Well, in retrospect, all the cops in this town hated his guts.

"It's a mystery to me why a good man like your uncle even bothers with a lost cause like you," Jeff snorted. "He should just leave you here to rot, you snot nosed brat."

"With a bunch of old farts like you?" Jack snorts. "Pass."

"Why you little-"

"Jack!" All heads turned towards the man who stalked straight towards his young ward. _It was like déjà vu._

Jack's uncle was an average Joe kinda guy. An average build, average height, average name, average… _everything._ He wasn't the richest man in town but he was well respected by almost everybody; and had a thing for his Chevy car. He worked as a marketing executive and even though it was a small job, he made enough for him and Jack to get by with. Except for his bright hazel eyes nothing about him screamed uniqueness; which was exactly the way his uncle intended it to be. He wasn't that old either; just 23. Jack and David had become very close recently; they were more like brothers than anything. In fact, if Jack obeyed anyone willingly these days, it would be his uncle; even that still happened on rare occasions. Though they didn't get along at first, David was like his best friend now…

Or his _only_ friend is more like it.

David came to a stop beside Jack and squared his shoulders. He aimed to stare down the kid but Jack hid his eyes under his white bangs which were still well protected by the blue hood. "Are you okay?"

Aside from the black eye he got from the stupid doughnut cop and the bloodied knuckled and the probably bruised ribs, he was peachy. His uncle always asked him that first before tearing him a new one. "I'm fine."

"Good… Now I can tear you a new one."

Jack let a ghost of a smile pass by his lips. _Oh yeah, didn't see that one coming._ Jack shrugged and began walking out of the office. He knew his uncle would finish all the formalities for him. He always did. It was like some sort of a daily messed up routine. It seemed to Jack that it was all his uncle did these days. Bail him out whenever he got into trouble. And that happened more often than not. It happened around school, around the neighborhood, around parks, you name it.

He truly wondered why his uncle still put up with him. They even raided his freaking house because of Jack for Pete's sake. The cop was right; his uncle should just leave him here to rot.

 _Just like his parents did…_

Jack stood outside the building that he hated being in and waited for David to come out. He leaned against one of the nearby light poles. He wished things could be different with him. He wished he didn't have to stay in this god-forsaken town. He wished he could just go back to his fam-

"Let's go, Jack."

Jack turned and saw his uncle walk out the doors. Jack sighed and followed him to his car. He called it his 'Baby.'

David had saved up a lot of money to get this particular model. He wondered what his uncle saw in this one that made it so special. Jack got into the passenger seat and slumped. David got into the driver's seat and eased the car out of the crammed parking lot and into the road and began driving home.

The two of them drove in silence and Jack prayed it would remain that way till they at least reached home…

"What's the matter with you?"

 _…_ _and when has any of his prayers been answered?_ He inwardly deadpanned. "What?"

"Don't _what_ me…" David momentarily turned towards him. "What's going on with you, huh?"

"Like you'd wanna know," Jack rolled his eyes.

"I do wanna know," David said. When he got no reply from the passenger seat he sighed and asked. "Is it the drugs again?"

Jack huffed loudly; clearly irritated. "I sold them like ONE time… Jeez, get off my back."

"The point is that you still sold them, Jack! You know it's illegal!" David snapped at the young boy. "You could've gotten into some serious trouble if I hadn-"

"Well no one asked you to!" Jack yelled. Why the hell would anyone care about him enough to keep getting him out of trouble? Why does his uncle keep doing it? _I never asked him to!_

"Your parents did!" David said angrily. Why couldn't the kid understand that he was just trying to help?

Jack's features darkened at the mention of his parents. _Like hell they care! Damn it! Stop thinking about them! Stop thinking, Jack!_ He pushed his wayward thoughts away with an almost physical force, driving it back into that far corner of his mind where so much of his past dwelt, hidden in the darkest reaches of his consciousness. He put on his stone cold faced mask and looked out the window.

David's eyes softened as he saw the defeated slope of the kid's shoulders and he saw him hide his face under that blue hood of his more, if that was even possible. "Just tell me what happened, Jack."

"You wouldn't understand…" came an emotionless whisper.

"Try me."

Jack glanced sideways at his uncle and sighed. "I was on the way to school through the park when I saw a bunch of these lame guys playing football with a dog and I…" Jack let the words float.

"Jack, don't lie to me…"

"This is exactly why I never tell you!" Jack suddenly exploded in rage. "You never _listen_! Nobody does!"

"Look kiddo… I'm only trying to do what's best for you. But if you keep ly-"

"Stop the car!"

David knew talking about Jack's family was a touchy subject for the kid. Heck, any subject that concerned him was a touchy subject for him. He learnt that lesson the hard way many times before. Jack had shut him out for weeks when the kid first came to live with him. "Jac-"

"I said stop the god-damn car!" Jack chastised, half turning towards his uncle while his left hand took ahold of the door handle. "Or I swear I'll jump out!"

"Alright!" came David's panicked yell. He had zero doubt in his mind that Jack would jump out of a moving car without a second thought. He slowed down and Jack was already out of the car before it came to a complete stop. He saw Jack pocket his hands and walk towards their house, which was still three miles away. He knew Jack was more than capable of walking for twenty miles straight if he had to. David quickly shut the engine off and got out. He trailed after Jack slowly. One wrong move and that's it; _Game over._ The kid might take off and not return home for days so he chose his words carefully. "I'm sorry alright…? You're right… I believe you. I swear I didn't mean to-"

"-call me a lying brat?"

"I never said that,"

"You might as well have."

"I'm sorry, Jack," David tried again. He was feeling very tired and just wanted to go home and rest. But he couldn't go to sleep knowing that Jack was still out here by himself. "Please, just get back to the car with me…"

Jack stopped walking. His uncle's voice sounded weird. He sounded exhausted. Jack turned slightly and saw his uncle rest his hands on his knees. _Boy, today must have been a hard day… I've never seen him this tired before. We're not more than 20 feet away from the car and the guy's breathing like he just ran a marathon or something_.

Jack mentally kicked himself. David was kind enough to let him live with him, let alone feed him and give him a good home and take care of him… and yet here he was, acting like a lousy brat. His uncle was a good man… he doesn't need this. Jack shook his head. "Fine, let's go."

Jack passed by his uncle who was still breathing heavily. He pretended not to notice the older man's distress. He stopped by the passenger door and waited patiently. His uncle tiredly made his way back to the car. Jack raised one of his eyebrows. "You look beat, want me to drive?" He smirked.

"You? A 17 year old without a license? And with _my_ car?" His uncle chuckled "Keep dreaming kid."

"You can't blame me for trying," Jack shrugged and got into the car with David and they resumed driving back home. They were about half a mile from their destination when Jack spoke up.

"What took you so long anyway?" Jack asked casually.

But David knew exactly what that question actually meant… _Were you planning on leaving me in jail?_ The poor kid has a huge case of abandonment issues. He had to make sure Jack knew that he was never gonna leave him. He cleared his throat. "I was at the hospital."

"The hospital? What for?" The words were lased with barely detectable concern; just barely. But David knew it was there. The kid cared about him even if he never showed it.

"I got jumped."

"Care to elaborate?" Jack smirked with amusement. He would have been more concerned if anything serious had happened. His uncle looked fine apart from the tiredness. Then again, doctors' poking and prodding at you would drain a guy out, _apart from the 'getting jumped' part._ Jack hated hospitals too… It reminded him of things he didn't want to remember.

"Do I have a choice?" David turned to Jack and saw him smirk. Shaking his head he explained. "I was unlocking my car when this guy came up from behind me and wrestled me to the ground. I managed to knock him off me long enough to get into the car and then I just kept driving. That's about it."

"So… Why the hospital?"

"Oh that… That was because he… he uh," David's face flushed a little red with embarrassment. "He bit me."

Silence followed that sentence before Jack burst into laughter. "Wait-a-second, Wait-a-second… did you just say a homeless guy _bit_ you?" he asked and began laughing uncontrollably again.

"I'm glad you find my suffering humorous," David deadpanned but he was smiling on the inside. It was rare to see Jack laughing and smiling like this; even if it was at his expense, it was okay. At least his misfortune made someone's day.

"I can't help it if you have a _'come get me, homeless people'_ neon sign stuck to your forehead, Uncle D."

"Whatever," David said as he stopped the car in front of their front yard and got out just as Jack did. "Oh and by the way… You're grounded for a month!"

"No surprise there…" Jack said still smiling. In all honesty, he was expecting David to ground him for a lot longer than that.

 ** _(Next Day Morning)_**

The sound of breaking glass woke Jack up. He opened his eyes slowly and blinked up at the ceiling. "Mus' be dreamin…" he mumbled. Jack yawned and rolled over to the other side and was drifting off again when-

 **CRASH!**

Jack jerked awake fully and quickly sat up straight. _Okay… Not dreaming._ He swung his legs off the side of his bed and heard another noise; scraping noises followed by strange thudding sounds. The noises seemed to be coming from the room below him.

He looked at the digital clock on the nightstand beside his bed. It read 9:47 AM. ' _Musta slept in'_ thought Jack. _'And David was supposed to be at work… So who's downstairs making all that noise?'_

Jack opened his bedroom door and stepped out. "David?" He walked till he reached the staircase railing and leaned forward on it to peer down into the living room. The noises could still be heard but it was coming from the kitchen this time. It could still be his uncle making breakfast or something... though his uncle wasn't normally this noisy though nor was he this late going to work.

 _Maybe he slept in too… Yesterday's exhaustion was getting to the poor guy._

Jack began descending the stairs. He vaguely remembered his uncle patching him up last night. David had fixed his black eye, applied some antiseptic to the scratches he had on his knuckles and bandaged his ribs. Jack had fallen asleep on the couch before the last one was finished. David must have carried him all the way up to his room. _Jeez… could you have been any bigger of a burden?_ He asked himself.

Jack paused and looked down at himself. He still wore the same torn up jeans and hoodie as he did yesterday. He shrugged. He must have slept in them last night. Jack's repeated clothes loads of times before… so it was no biggie.

Jack reached the foot of the stairs and heard the scuffling noises again… then the sound of glass hitting the floor. _Man, David's making a racket… Did he drink last night?_ But that was a wayward thought than anything else. His uncle never drank any form of alcohol so that made no sense and no one in their right mind would try to rob them in broad day light. Not that they had anything valuable enough to steal anyway.

He crept till he reached the kitchen entrance. With his back against the wall, he peered in stealthily. There were a number of things that Jack noticed. First, there were broken glass scattered everywhere; most of them he recognized as David's favorite coffee mugs. _His grandma gave those to him… David's gonna freak-out!_ Second, there was a mixture of some white and orange liquid forming a huge puddle on the floor. _Milk and Orange juice? What is this guy trying to do? Raid our kitchen?_ Third, the fridge door was open and whoever the intruder was, was behind it; throwing other food items out. Right now the guy was clearing out the egg tray; dropping them on the already messy floor too. _Well, the joke's on him cause' David hasn't gotten the refrigerator working in weeks_. The food they kept in there were mostly stale anyway. The kitchen looked like a tornado had hit it. The shelves were broken like someone had smashed through them with their bare fists _. David's gonna have a freaking heart attack when he sees this…_ And that's not even the worst part; Jack will probably get blamed for this too.

Whoever this guy is, he's not even trying to stay quiet about the fact that he just broke into someone's house. _Well, we do live far away from anyone else and I was supposed to be in school by now… he must've thought there was no one home._ So why bother staying quite… Yeah, that made more sense. For a second Jack thought it could be the homeless guy who bit his uncle but then dismissed the thought. They were miles away from David's work place and the homeless guy couldn't possible know where they lived.

Jack could see the top of the man's head, his ankles and his feet. His hair looked like it had fallen out; only strands of short lose brownish grey hair sticking out from a few places. Judging by his bony ankles and feet, the guy must be a thin dude.

Jack was pretty confident he could take him on in a fight if it came down to it. So he stepped into the kitchen but he didn't have to clear his throat or even try to get the intruder's attention.

The muttering and the tinkering noises stopped abruptly. Silence followed as the man slowly raised his head above the small metal door and looked at the silver haired boy standing a few feet away from him.

Milky white eyes starred at icy blue ones. The younger of the two gasped. "D-David?"

Jack barely had time to dodge when the man suddenly jumped at him with full force; jaw wide open, long bony fingers stretched out in front of him ready to claw at its prey. His pointy fingers just touching Jack's sleeve as the boy flung himself sideways.

Jack slipped on the milk and orange juice and landed on the floor on his butt with a loud thud. _Ow…that hurt_ ; though his eyes never left the creature for a second.

Jack was sure this thing- _whatever it was_ \- was in fact his uncle; though David looked more _alive_ the last time he saw him _._ Jack didn't know how he knew but he just did. There was no mistaking it. This _thing_ was David! It looked like he'd been dead for years… But how is that even possible? _Am I still dreaming?_

 _Yup… That must be it…_ He was still dreaming.

"David… What happened to you?" Jack couldn't help but ask. He saw the creature turn towards him. Normal hazel eyes hidden behind a veil of white; it opened and closed its mouth, speaking silent words with the last shred of sanity it had left. It tilted its head sideways; arms swinging lazily from side to side. It took two slow steps towards the fallen boy before launching itself at him.

Jack quickly looked to his right and pulled a wooden chair that was sitting next to the center table. He swung the chair in front of him; hoping it would create a small momentary barricade between him and the monster _. It isn't David; not anymore._

David's body caught the base of the chair; his right arm clawing at the back of the chair and the other clawing at Jack; his jaws snapping viciously at the boy; spit and saliva landing on Jack's face.

They both struggled for a short while. The only thing separating the two of them was a thin wooden plank and a thin layer of cushion. David's left hand caught hold of Jack's silvery white hair and pulled mercilessly.

Jack couldn't help the scream that left his lips. He felt like if David pulled any harder he would lose his hair for sure. Jack tried wrenching the creature's hand off but David held on with a death grip. Jack began searching the floor for something- _anything_ that could help him. He was too young to lose hair. Luckily his fingers brushed across a glass shard. _The broken coffee mug! Well… technically it's ceramic but who's complaining_. Jack clawed at the sharp object until he got a good grip of it. He didn't wait as he plunged it into the arm that held painfully onto his hair. A loud animalistic cry came from the creature. _If it felt pain then it wasn't completely brainless after all, not yet anyway._ It let go of Jack's hair and backed off a little. This gave Jack the opportunity to draw one of his legs to his chest and held his foot to the wood keeping the monster inches away from him. Once he got a good steady grip, Jack kicked with everything he had. David and the chair were flung backwards and skidded till the creature was on the opposite side of the kitchen _. Guess the gross liquids on the floor were on his side for once._

It gave Jack just enough time to get his feet under him as he scrambled across the kitchen to the far end of the table; the farthest corner away from the dead creature- which was, ironically, the liveliest thing he'd ever seen. Jack would've laughed at the irony of it all if the situation wasn't so dire.

The creature was already on its feet. It dashed madly to its right only to crash into a china cabinet adjacent to where Jack was standing. _Okay_ , it's obviously not the most coordinated creatures he's seen; but by far the deadliest. And damn, that was David's mom's china cabinet. David was ruining his own stuff without realizing it. Jack winced.

Here he was fighting for his life and all he could care about a china cabinet? _Do you even have priorities, Jack?_

In a flash of a moment the monster was charging at its prey _… again_ ; this time with deadly speed. Jack had no time to get to the knives; which at this point was the only weapon he could think of. Jack looked to his left and found a toaster that sat next to a microwave. The microwave was too big so the toaster will have to do. He pulled at the machine and lifted it on top of his head and swung it down as hard and as fast as he could. Fortunately his timing was perfect as he heard a crack, a small groan and then silence. He knew the toaster had hit its target. Jack slowly opened his eyes and looked down. The creature had collapsed at his feet; mere inches away with its jaws slack. A second too late and he would have been monster chow.

Jack let out a breath he didn't know he was holding as he carefully stepped away from the creature; a bloodied toaster still in his hand. _Forget the heart attack, David will be lucky if he even saw straight after this_. He really hoped it wasn't David though. He knew it was stupid but he hoped the dead creature was alive.

Reality finally caught up to Jack… _Oh god! I just killed my uncle! With a freaking toaster!_ What the hell did he just do? The only man who was kind enough to watch over him was now lying dead in a small pool of his own blood.

 _This is not happening…_

 _This is not happening…_

 _This is-_

 ** _Ding-Dong_**

Just then he heard the doorbell ring. Jack took a moment to register the doorbell and then looked down at himself. The back of his jeans was covered with milk and orange juice. At least he's hoodie seemed alright apart from the obvious dirt. _'Alright'_ being a very lose term.

 ** _Ding-Dong- Ding-Dong-Ding-Dong-Ding-Dong-Ding-Dong!_**

"Alright!" Jack yelled with frustration from the kitchen. _Who the hell was that? Couldn't they let a guy panic in peace?_ "I'm coming!"

He looked towards the creature that tried to kill him only moments ago before setting the toaster down on the table and made his way to the front door. He looked through the peep hole and then opened the door; revealing a shaking, panting young girl.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Jack asked, not even attempting to hide his annoyance or irritation towards her. He didn't have time to deal with anyone else right now.

The girl seemed to stare at him for a moment before snapping out of her thoughts.

"I-I'm Rapunzel," She breathed out. "And I need your help."

* * *

Okay, that's it for this Chapter. YAY! This story is going to be a little Jack-centric, if you haven't guessed already. But don't worry Rapunzel, Hiccup and Merida will be given as much importance as they deserve. No one will be left behind in the fanfic. Unless I decide to kill them... but I'm not that evil... or am I? XD

Please leave me a **review!** They're love and a way to lemme know that you like this fic. ^_^  
Thanks for reading.  
Take Care  
Byeee!


	3. Chapter 2

**A.N:** Is it just me or is this fandom dying fast? Kinda sad actually. Oh well, in any case, here's the next chapter.

 **SHOUT-OUTS**

 **Guest:** OMGosh! My first reviewer! Hi! Here's a cookie! (::) And yay! Thank you for the sweet compliments! Hope I don't disappoint you.

 _ **Thank you to the people who have Followed and Favorited! I LOVE YA! :-***_

ENJOY! ^_^

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Dear Diary, I Met the Boy of My Dreams Today**

**_(Earlier that day)_**

"You know dear," A woman's gentle voice called out. "You don't have to skip school to stay here and look after us."

"Oh. It's no problem, mother," Rapunzel called back as she entered her parents' bedroom with a tray carrying two bowls of steaming hot soup. "It's only for a day and I don't mind."

"But Rapunzel, we know how much you love going," her father argued as he took one of the bowls from her. "We can take care of ourselves."

"But you shouldn't have to," Rapunzel said with a smile. "Besides you two are more important to me."

"We love you very much dear," her mother said clearly touched at her daughter's words.

"I love you more," Rapunzel said without skipping a beat but frowned when she saw her father wince and hold his palm to his right temple. "I'll go see if we have more Tylenol."

Rapunzel hurried downstairs and went into their store room and opened the medicine cabinet. She dug through all the different tablets and icky tasting medicines but didn't find what she was looking for. She huffed and ran upstairs again into her parent's room. "We're out of Tylenol. I'll go to the drug store down town and get some."

"You shouldn't go there by yourself Rapunzel. I'll come with you." Her father placed the empty bowl on the nightstand next to him. His daughter sure knew how to make a mean chicken soup. He began getting out of bed but couldn't help but grimace. A gentle hand on his shoulder made him look up at a smiling face.

"It's okay," the golden haired girl smiled; despite the worry she was feeling on the inside. "I think I can handle a simple trip to the store, dad. Just sit back and relax. Listen to some tunes, watch tv… I'll be back before you even know it."

"Well, alright…" Her father said unsurely. "But if you're not back in 10 minutes I'm coming to look for you."

"Make that 30, dad." Rapunzel laughed. "I'd have to be a superhero to be that fast."

"Be careful, Rapunzel. And wear a sweater dear, it's chilly out," Her mother called out as she saw her daughter leave their room. She looked at her husband and sighed softly; a silent understanding passed between them. They both knew whatever this sickness is- It's wasn't normal. Medicine isn't going to help them; they were scared-

-Scared for their beloved daughter.

 _What would she do without them?_

 _Where would she go?_

 _Who would look out for her?_

 _What would happen to her…_

Rapunzel dashed down the stairs once again; hurriedly putting on her pink coat. It _was_ chilly out today; as it had been a couple of days ago since the bizarre storm. She had to be fast- She didn't like to see her parents in pain. She wasn't old enough to drive so she would either have to walk or take the bike. She hadn't ridden that thing in years. It would be rusty for sure but she had no choice. It was the fastest way to get to the store and back. Just as she was about to close the front door, her cat came up to her and meowed.

"I'll be right back, Pascal. Take care of Father and Mother for me." She said as she closed the door and locked it and went to the side of the house to the shed.

She understood her parents' worry well. With all the people that went missing recently, who wouldn't be worried? Even a few police officers went missing for god's sake! They suspected the Frost kid of course. But they were just silly rumors that she refused to believe. But one thing was for sure; something weird _is_ going on in the town.

Rapunzel saw her old bike hidden beneath a dusty old blanket. She pulled the sheet off and sighed. She was right, the thing was rusty. In fact, saying it was rusty was an understatement. The pink paint job was barely visible under the reddish brown dirt and cob webs that stuck to it. The spokes stuck out in different places of the wheel _. Oh yeah… Now I remember why I hadn't used it. Father said he would fix that but never actually got the time to do that._ Her father didn't want Rapunzel hurting herself with the pointy spokes. But she was older now. She knew how to handle it. Since either her parents or the butler just drove her to wherever she wanted to go, she didn't have to use it anyway and eventually forgot about the thing. Their butler was unfortunately not here at the moment to assist her. _Great timing_ she thought.

Rapunzel dusted the cycle as best she could and brought it out of the shed. It didn't look so bad now. She adjusted the spokes so that it wasn't sticking out. She couldn't do much about the thicker ones so she just bent that slightly inwards. _It would have to do for now_ … _At least that way it'll be a bit safer than before and wouldn't hurt anyone else_.

"Well, here goes nothing…" She whispered to herself and sat on the less than comfy seat. She hadn't realized how tall she had become in such short years. When her parents bought the bike it was bigger than her. She had to stretch her legs to just touch the ground but now? She had to bend her legs awkwardly just to sit on it. _Great… I'm gonna look like a circus clown now._ She only hoped no one would snap a picture of her while she rode it.

Rapunzel rode the bike as fast as she could and didn't care how funny she looked right then. The streets were surprisingly empty. She began feeling very uncomfortable and almost turned back. _No!_ Her parents needed her. She wouldn't simply just give up. What is she afraid of anyway? There's no one around… or maybe she was afraid _because_ no one was around.

It felt eerie.

Rapunzel sensed something following her; something behind her. She ignored it and kept riding forward. The sudden sound of trash cans falling over each other made her stop and turn around abruptly. Her heart jumped into her throat.

"Meow…"

 _A black cat._

It was just a black cat. It looked at Rapunzel with its mystical emerald marbles before hissing and running away back into the alley. The girl with the golden hair placed her hand on her rapidly beating heart to calm it down. She couldn't bring herself to chuckle at her jumpiness. She shook her head and turned around again just to be met with a corpse's face. Its eyes were milky and mouth hanging open.

Rapunzel yelped in surprise and fell off her bike. The creature tilted its head, it's clearly a woman; or _was_ a woman because whatever it was now- it was definitely not a woman. It wore a casual green t-shirt that hung off of her thin bony decaying shoulders and it also wore discolored jeans. One of its ankle's was broken. She had a huge chunk of flesh missing from her forehead.

Rapunzel used her elbows to move back slowly but the creature let out a low growl and launched itself at the golden haired girl.

Rapunzel rolled out the way just in time to see the creature's face hit the concrete ground. She looked around for anything to use to defend herself. She spotted her bike which was only inches away.

Rapunzel hastily crawled to her bicycle and pulled at one of the thick spokes. She was also keeping an eye on the wom—No, monster in front of her. The creature seemed dazed but then quickly snapped out of it. The horrid thing turned its ugly face to Rapunzel. She could have sworn it looked like a one eighty degree turn. She pulled at the spoke even harder, with even more desperation.

Its vacant eyes starred at Rapunzel. Its mouth was opening and closing; as if to call out to someone. It climbed lazily to its feet and threw itself at Rapunzel once more.

Rapunzel felt the spoke give but it was too late as the fetid creature was already on top of her; clawing at her clothes, her skin; her face. Rapunzel could do nothing but scream. No one was around! No one would come to save her! She was all alone! Who would take care of her parents now? _I'm sorry mother, father… I tried…_

Rapunzel was so busy rambling in her mind that she failed to notice how weak the clawing had gotten until it completely stopped. The scared-to-death girl looked at the zombie above her. Its eyes unseen and jaw slack. _It was dead…?_ _Oh My Gosh! It was dead!_ Only then did Rapunzel notice the spoke sticking out from under its jaw; the other end sticking out from on top of its head.

Rapunzel's shaky hands reached up and pushed the _really-dead-this-time_ creature off her. Her pink coat was ripped to shreds so there was no point in wearing it now. She disposed of the coat on top of the thing and began walking stiffly towards the drug store. She refused to think about it. Refused to think about how she could have died a few seconds ago, refused to think about how she would never have been able to see her parents again, refused to think about how she just killed someone… or something… _No! Stop thinking! Don't think. Rapunzel! You're alive and your parents still need the medicine! C'mon, only a few blocks away… Focus!_

Rapunzel ended up running to the store. She was there before she knew it. She banged at the glass door yelling 'Let me in!' all the while before realizing that there was a pull sign attached to the door handle. She pulled the door open and stepped inside and let out a sigh. She looked around the store; it seemed that no one was there; the lights flickered on n' off at the far side of the store. She was sure this was a 24/7 open store so why was no one there?

Rapunzel shook her head slightly. She didn't have time for this. She had to get back to her parents. She looked down at her watch; nine minutes and her dad would come looking for her. She shivered at the thought of her father out here in his present condition. She sneaked herself into the compounding area where she was sure the drugs were kept and gasped. There lying on the floor was Mr. Doug's son. She knew him. He went to the same school as she did. He was just three years older than she was. Around him were a number of creatures that were similar to the monster she killed. They were… eating him. One of them was Mr. Doug.

Rapunzel brought her hands up to cover her mouth; out of shock or to stop herself from screaming she didn't know but she knew she had to get out of here. Rapunzel jerked back onto the cardboard cutout of Mr. Happy Tooth and it fell on a pile of toothpaste boxes and everything fell to the ground; creating a lot of noise. Her wide teary eyes looked down and then back at the gory scene in front of her. She saw six pairs of lifeless milky white eyes stare back at her.

Rapunzel didn't bother holding back the scream this time. She ran to the doors, pushed them open and ran as fast as she could into the woods to her left. This was the part of town that wasn't as developed as the other parts. Right now, she couldn't be happier about it. There are more chances that she could lose those monsters here than in open streets. She ran blindly ahead; medicine forgotten. She blinked rapidly to get rid of the moisture in her eyes. She didn't dare look back; the scuffing sounds behind her were enough to keep her from doing that. She just kept running.

Rapunzel ran for what felt like hours. She had run till she was a 100% sure she'd lost the _dead-but-not-so-dead_ creatures. She took a break near a tree. Her legs were burning. She just wanted to collapse but she knew she couldn't do that; not here, not now. So she kept heading forward. She couldn't turn back. Not back to those horrible things.

Just when Rapunzel thought she was hopelessly lost, a house came into view. She practically squealed in joy before taking off towards it. She slowed as she neared the house. She had to be very careful. For all she knew this place could be crawling with those things too. She stepped in the porch of the house and rang the doorbell once.

Rapunzel waited for a few moments before ringing the doorbell repeatedly until she heard a _'Alright I'm coming'_ from inside. It sounded like a boy's voice. _Thank God! Dead creatures can't talk… I'm safe_. She told herself as the door opened revealing a boy with the most beautiful blue eyes she'd ever seen and white hair.

He looked sorely at her. He was clearly irritated; maybe even a bit hostile…and obviously annoyed. "Who are you and what do you want?" He asked; getting straight to the point.

"I-I'm Rapunzel" She breathed out. Sparing a sideways glace at the woods around them. "And I need your help."

* * *

YAY! So that's it for this week. And YESSSSSSSSS! I watched **Zootopia** and its the MOST AWESOME anthropomorphic movie EVERRRRR! If you haven't watched it yet then I strongly recommend that you do. And also, for any BH6 fans reading this... DID YOU GUYS KNOW THAT THEY ARE HAVING THEIR OWN TV SHOW! OMG *explodes from too much fangirling*

So yeah... It's been a fun week. I hope you have a fun week ahead as well. Until next time. **Review** is love guys! I'll never know how the story is if you don't let me know.  
Take care!  
Bye!


	4. Chapter 3

**A.N:** Alrighty... Here's chapter 3! So I'm a day late... Sue me!

And my internals just ended today which is the most happiest thing that has happened to me this year (apart from Zootopia that is) And now I gotta start preparing for my finals. But those exams are a walk in the park tbh. I know I'll do good in them.

This also means I'll be able to work on my BH6 fanfic BTIA (for those of you who know about it so you can expect updates on that soon)

 **SHOUT OUTS TIME!**  
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** **Guest** : YAY! really? Gosh, I'm so happy you think that! I work extra hard to maintain their personalities. So Thank you very much for the wonderful feedback. Here are some cookies for you! (::) (::) (::)  
 **KawaiiAriel:** Thank you! And your wish is my command... so here you go! Also, cookies for you too! (::) (::)

 **Thanks to all the wonderful lovelies who've favorited and followed! LOVE YA!**

 **ENJOY!** **  
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* * *

 **Chapter 3: Mission 1- Save My Parents!**

Jack looked at the girl standing in front of him. She looked familiar somehow. Her braided golden hair had dirt, twigs and leaves sticking out from it. She wore a yellow and white striped shirt with half sleeves and blue capris pants. She had mud patted all over her and… claw marks on her face. Jack wondered if she had run into other creatures like David. She looked like she really needed help. _Of course she does you moron! She just said she did!_ "What kind of help?"

Rapunzel knew this guy… Well, she had seen him a couple of times; his name was Jack. There were so many rumors going around about him for years. Some say he killed his sibling and moved here to escape from the law; others say he's a kid serial killer who likes to keep their baby teeth under his pillow; other stories mostly revolved around the same concept. Some even said he was friends with the infamous Pitch Black. They said he did dangerous drugs and even went to Juvie for it. They say he's the meanest and coldest kid anyone could ever meet.

But he didn't seem like that at all…

Jack and she had a number of classes together. He rarely came to school though, but when he did; he always sat in the last bench at the back of the class and always hid his face under his hood. This was the first time she got to actually see his face.

She had to admit. He was really handsome… _Whoa! Focus Rapunzel!_ He had a fading black eye though _. I wonder how he got that_. She didn't know he had snowy white hair. _Had he dyed it?_ Well, whatever he did to it, she thought it was cool and that it suited him. She wondered what Jack's original hair color was. It stuck out in odd angles that almost made her giggle out loud. _He must've just woken up or something._ And also his clothes were a little wet. Did he shower with his clothes on…? _Don't go there!_ _Focus, darn it!_ Her eyes then went to his right ear lobe; more like they were forced to go there by the little sparkle. He wore a small deep midnight blue stud. It matched his crystal blue eyes almost perfectly. _Wow, he was so hot…! Rapunzel! What has gotten into you! Stop staring! It's rude and he's gonna think your some kind of a weirdo._ She scolded herself then finally spoke up. "Ah… Can I please come in?"

It took a while for Jack to answer. For a second Rapunzel thought he was going to say _no_ and shut the door in her face but he didn't.

"Sure…" Jack said slowly, opening the door wider and stepped aside for Rapunzel to enter. He didn't bother with the pleasantries and skipped right to the point of the matter. "So why are you here? And… what happened to you?"

Rapunzel looked at him skeptically. Jack smirked "Hey, you're the one who looks like you've been caught between mafia gang wars… might as well know what I'm getting myself into here." _And also find out what's going on out there._

Rapunzel rolled her eyes playfully. "You don't look all that far from that yourself, you know."

Jack shrugged and led his uninvited guest to the living room where they both gave a brief description of the events of their respective mornings.

"So… What do you think's going on?" asked Rapunzel tugging at a wayward strand of hair.

"Honestly…? I donno… I've never seen anything like this before."

"What should we do now?"

Jack thought for a moment. Should he call his parents? Tell them what's going on here. Ask them if they're safe? _Yeah… That's probably a good idea_. Though Jack knew he was going to regret the conversation. Besides, how is he ever going to explain to them what happened to David? If whatever this is, is only happening here then his parents are never going to believe him. Just like they didn't believe him when he said he didn't hur-

"Jack?"

"Huh…? Oh right…" Jack snapped back to reality. "Gimme a minute." He said as he walked to the landline, dialed the number he knew by heart and held the phone to his ear. "Huh… That's weird…"

"What's weird?" _apart from everything that was going on._ Rapunzel asked coming up to stand behind him.

"Just wait here," Jack threw over his shoulder as he ran up the stairs to his bedroom. "I'll be right back."

"Okay…" Rapunzel rubbed her arm nervously. She was all alone in the living room now and she felt a little scared. _Jack is just a floor above you, Rapunzel. Get a hold of yourself_. She warily looked towards the kitchen. Jack said he had killed it. They'd talked about it and came to only one conclusion about those things; **Zombies!**

It was the only thing that made sense.

Rapunzel saw a little shelf attached to the wall to her left. She walked over to it to inspect it. Some books and broken photo frames were lying beneath it. She picked up the pictures and looked at them. They all had picture of a few people in them; a man, a woman, and another older woman and occasionally another man; much younger than the rest. She guessed the younger man with hazel eyes must be Jack's uncle. Rapunzel gazed at all the pictures; also the ones on the shelf but not even one had Jack in them.

Rapunzel almost dropped the frame she was holding when she heard Jack's voice. She hastily put back the pictures she was holding on the shelves and turned towards Jack just as he came into view and tried to look as innocent as possible. "I'm sorry. What did you say?"

"I said the phone lines are dead and my cell doesn't have any bars," Jack said waving his blue phone in front of him. He pretended not to notice how agitated the girl looked. "What about you? Do you have a phone on you?"

"Oh!" Rapunzel chirped and patted down her pockets before wincing. "Oh shoot! I must have left it at home in my roo-Oh My Gosh! My parents!"

Jack was taken aback by Rapunzel's sudden outburst. He watched a flurry of activity as she walked all around his uncle's living room; rambling like there was no tomorrow until he couldn't take it anymore. Jack strode over to her and took her shoulders gently and looked her in the eye. "Whoa! Calm down!"

"I can't calm down! My parents need help! They need medicine! I have to get it for them! I should've been home hours ago! Oh My Gosh, my dad said he was going to look for me if I didn't get home an hour and a half ago! He must be freaking out! What if he's out there! What if there are more of those things there! What if-"

"Hey! Stop!" Jack shook her again. "You're not helping anyone by having a panic attack, alright? You. Need. To. Calm. Down."

Rapunzel's teary eyes stared at the cool calm ones and she nodded jerkily. He let go of her as she brought her hands up to rub the tears from her eyes and looked at him and waited; waited for him to tell her _something_ ; to tell her everything was going to be okay; to tell her what their next move was.

She didn't have to wait long.

"Okay, good," Jack said stepping away from her. "Now, we gotta find David's car keys. It should be around here somewhere. You search here while I search the kitchen. You think you can handle that?"

His tone didn't show even a hint of annoyance that he had when they first met. There was nothing but care in them now. Rapunzel managed a small smile and a nod and began searching near the sofa; lifting up the cushions and looking under them. She watched from the corner of her eye as Jack disappeared into the kitchen. How could someone like Jack kill or hurt his own flesh and blood? Or anybody else for that matter. _No way would he have done any of the things the rumors say._ She didn't know why but she felt like she could trust him. Jack would keep her safe; he would help her; he would protect her.

She _believed_ in him.

A smile passed her lips.

Jack walked into the kitchen, careful not to step onto any ceramic pieces. It was hard to not step on the fluids though; it was everywhere. At least he didn't have to worry about cleaning up the place. David was a little too dead to care. That thought brought pain to his heart. _Damn it!_ Why do things like this always have to happen to the people he loved?

 _First his little sister… and now this?_

Jack did a visual sweep of the kitchen counters. _No keys_ ; maybe it was near the coffee machine. He skipped across the kitchen carefully avoiding the obvious tiny obstacles. He lifted the coffee machine and… _no keys here either_. He huffed and turned around and _there_ , across the kitchen were the keys. He spotted the bunch right next to the microwave. He didn't see it before because of the angle but he could clearly see it now. The only problem was that David's dead body is in the way. _He-it's dead, Jack. So quit being such a freaking wuss and just go get the keys!_

Jack rolled his eyes at himself and made his way to the microwave. He grabbed the keys and held them up with a soft, "Bingo," one leg on either side of David's decaying form. Just then cold hands latched onto his ankles and pulled.

"Whoa!" Jack went down with a surprised yelp. _Not-so-dead-David_ had him pinned to the floor. Jack struggled to roll out from under it but that didn't seem to be happening. So instead he held onto Zombie-David's shoulder and neck with his forearms and tilted his head to the side as far as possible. That way he could prevent being bitten… or eaten; at least until he could think of a way out of this situation. The snapping of teeth were mere inches away from his ear. _Oh and let's not forget about the gross saliva… Yuck!_

Just when Jack thought he couldn't hold out any longer, the pressure on his arms were gone but not before he heard a 'TUNG' sound. He looked to his right to see the creature slumped partially on the floor and partially on him; mostly dead, guessing by the red and brown ooze forming around its head. But then again; it seems as though these things don't die easily. He looked up for the first time and saw a wide eyed Rapunzel standing over him; a frying pan held tightly in her hands over her shoulders. "A-are you okay?"

"Peachy…" he grunted as he drew his legs from underneath the _mostly-not-dead-yet_ Zombie. He grabbed the keys that he had dropped earlier and stood up. "Really? A frying pan?"

"It was the only thing I could find," Rapunzel laughed halfheartedly letting her shoulders drop in relief. "Besides you shouldn't be complaining… It saved your butt, didn't it?"

"Wasn't complaining," Jack held up his hands in defense _. I would've been Zombie food if it wasn't for you… and the frying pan._ "But I bet David would have a few choice of words for you," though he chuckled there wasn't any humor there; only sadness.

Rapunzel looked sadly at the snowy haired boy. She wanted nothing more than to comfort him "Ja-"

"C'mon, let's get moving before it comes back to life again," he interrupted. _'It'_ not a _'he'_ Jack reminded himself as he jogged out of the kitchen and up the stairs. "Follow me." He threw over his shoulder.

"Isn't the door the other way?" Rapunzel said glancing behind her at the front door but she followed him anyway carrying the frying pan with her. It was a pretty good weapon and she felt safer holding it.

"I've gotta get something first," Jack said entering his bedroom. "Wait out here for a minute," he said and shut the door without waiting for her reply.

"Okay…" Rapunzel said to herself again. Less than a minute later Jack opened the door again and she saw that he had changed clothes. He wore a hoodie again but this time, the blue was darker than before; more like indigo shaded. His wet ripped jeans was replaced by cleaner non-ripped ones. He motioned her to come inside.

Rapunzel stepped into his room but didn't go all the way in. She saw that his room was different than any other boy's room. It was complexly empty apart from the unmade bed, messy drawers at the far side of the room, a closed closet, two glass windows and _no_ posters of bands or hot babes on bikes… _That was an odd one_.

But then again what did she expect…? Pictures of the kids he tortured plastered on the walls and human organs in jars? Well, in her defense; the rumors she heard about him were surprisingly detailed... and gruesomely scary.

But even with that stuff, the room seemed so… _vacant_. As if it was missing something… _something important…_

Jack crouched at the side of his bed and pulled out a dusty cardboard box from underneath it. He removed the lid and dug through the various items inside it until he found what he was looking for.

Rapunzel, who was peering over his shoulder to see what he was doing; gasped in shock, and involuntarily backed a few steps away from him.

Jack turned around, not taking his eyes off the gun he was holding. _I never thought I would use this thing again._ He could feel Rapunzel's questioning glaze on him.

"Just a precaution," he said as he held his colt. He slid out the magazine, tapping it against the handle of the gun. It hit the gun with a heavy _'clunk'_ sound; fully loaded _; except for that one bullet he used a long, long time ago._ He slid the clip back into the gun, cocking the second bullet into the chamber and tucked the handgun into the back of his waistband and re-adjusted his hoodie to cover it up. Of course he had clicked the safety on before doing so. _Wouldn't want any unnecessary accidents, now do we?_

Rapunzel nodded mutely. Maybe they were right about Jack; maybe he was dangerous after all… _He had a_ _ **GUN**_ _under his bed for god's sake! Oh god! What have I gotten myself into? Wait… did he just ask me a question? Oh crap! Answer it, you dummy! Before he shoots you!_

"Huh?" is all she could say.

"I asked you what medicine your parents needed," Jack said with a little irritation. _Where does she go when she zones out like that?_ "We might have some here."

"Medicine?" Rapunzel repeated dumbly _. He had listened?_ He actually paid attention to her rambling… He cared enough to ask her about her parents. She felt touched. "Um… It's Tylenol."

"Alright, we have plenty of _that._ Wait here while I go get some," Jack said leaving her alone _again_. She stood silently in his room looking at the floor. She was a little confused and also a little scared. She wanted to trust Jack, she really did… but that gun kept popping into her head. _Has he ever used it on someone? What if he uses it on her? What if, him helping her and acting like he cared was all just a trap to get close to her…?_

Rapunzel plopped herself on the bed with a heavy sigh and hid her face in her hands. She then looked sideways and perked up a bit at what she saw. On the nightstand was a photo. She scooted closer to it to get a better look. She didn't want to risk picking it up and getting caught. The last thing she wanted was to make Jack angry.

The picture was of four people. She recognized one of them instantly. It was Jack; a much younger version of Jack but she knew it was him. She guessed he must be around twelve or thirteen years old and… he had brown hair! _So that's his original hair color._ He was laughing up at the camera along with the other three; a man, a little girl and a woman who was carrying her. _This must be his family_. Jack looks so happy and he looked great as a brunette too. _I wonder what happened-_

"Okay, I got 'em. Let's go," she heard him say before the owner of the voice came through the door and headed straight for the window.

"We're going down… through the window?"

"It's a shortcut," Jack said as he climbed out and stood on the other side of the window and smirked. "Plus I can scope the place out better from up here than down there."

"Oh okay," Rapunzel said not wanting to question his decisions, for a number of good reasons. So she just did exactly as he said. Jumped, stopped, climbed, ran, jumped again and just like that they were in front of the Chevy.

They both got into the car and Jack started up the engine. Rapunzel couldn't stop from asking him. "Do you know how to drive?"

He snorted at her question like it was an insult and wordlessly eased the car out onto the road and began driving. They drove till they reached the more populated part of town… Well, it used to be populated. Now it just looked deserted. _Like a freaking ghost town…_ Well, except for the broken, mangled bodies that littered the ground. Dust, debris and shattered glass lay all along the main street.

 _How could it have all changed so much in just a few hours?_

"Shit! The road's blocked,"

Rapunzel noticed it too. A few meters in front of them were a bunch of cars, all piled up together, damaged and broken. Smoke came from some of the cars. "Looks like some kind of an accident… A big one at that."

"Yeah, no kidding," Jack said as he began reversing the car. "And I'm not gonna wait around to find out what caused it. We'll just take the other route."

As they drove farther Jack turned around to face his passenger. "You'll have to tell me the way to your hous-"

"JACK! WATCH OUT!"

Jack was already slamming the breaks as hard as he could. The car came to a screeching halt but not before they heard a thump. Both Rapunzel and he jerked forward. Rapunzel almost hit her head on the windshield but luckily she was able to brace herself before that happened. She should really start wearing seatbelts.

"What the hell…" She heard Jack say.

Rapunzel leaned forward to see what had jumped in front of them. "I think you hit someone."

 _…_ _Or something…_ Jack thought, climbing out of the car. "Stay in the car."

"Be careful, Jack."

Jack pulled out his gun but kept it pointing at the ground. He clicked the safety switch off and peered in turtle speed at the front of their car. He saw a kid; about the same age as he was, lying sprawled on his back on the cement ground.

Jack thought the guy was dead before he heard a soft groan from the latter. "Hey… You okay man?"

"Ugh… What happened?" the confused teen asked bringing his hand up to rub the side of his head.

"We kinda hit you with our car, my bad," Jack said. He relaxed his shoulders but still held the gun in his hand; this guy could be a Zombie for all he knew… or could turn into one. He looked over at a worried Rapunzel and gave her a thumbs up. _The dude's alive._

"Oh… Oh!" The guy looked a little disoriented but stood up with lightning speed and jumped away from Jack after seeing the gun in his hand.

"Hey, whoa! Relax buddy," Jack said putting the gun back in its place; flicking the safety back on as he did. "I'm not gonna hurt you. What's your name?"

"Hiccup… M-my name's Hiccup."

* * *

YESSS! Finally, the intro of our favorite HTTYD character. Lol, I hope you guys liked this chapter.  
Please leave me a **review.** You have no idea how much it helps an author out. Especially during these tough exam times...

Well, until next time!  
Take care!  
Byeeeeeee!


	5. Chapter 4

**A.N: ** Okay, I missed a week but in my defense I was out of town and my net was traveling at the speed slower than a tortoise and it's hard to update under such harsh conditions.

But I'm here now with a brand new update. So without further ado…

 **SHOUT OUTS!**

 **Kawaii Ariel:** Your sentence got cut so I'm gonna assume you wished me all the best for my exams. Thank you very much! I really hope you like this chapter! (::) (::) (::)  
 **AvaniAcrux** **:** YAY! I'm super glad you liked it! Hey! Look at that, I love zombie stuff too. I know all the way of how NOT to die during a zombie apocalypse. XD (::) (::)  
 **IheartNicoxReyna** **:** Glad you liked it. There's more of Hiccup coming your way. (::)

Thank you to all who've Favorited and followed and reviewed to this Story! I LOVE YOU! *hugs you guys*

 **Enjoy!  
**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: This is Exactly Why I Hate School**

 ** _(Earlier that day)_**

"HICCUP!" Miss Humphrey yelled. "You get your butt in here, mister! NOW!"

"Okay! Okay… I'm coming," Hiccup replied as he dragged himself and a bag into the room where the shrewd women stood; tapping her foot impatiently on the floor with her hands on her hips. She glared at the young man in front of her.

"Why are you _always_ the last one to leave this house?" Miss Humphrey asked, her tiny eyes narrowing threateningly. "Leave now! Before you're late again," She thrust her index finger at the front door.

Hiccup's shoulders sagged as he came out of the orphanage and heard Miss Humphrey shut the door loudly behind him on purpose. He sighed and shouldered his bag and began the duty of lugging himself to school. He hated school… but he loved it too.

He hated it because of one student- _Well, one plus two of his trusty sidekicks._ They always seem to find it fun to bully him. He knew how the bully psychology worked but what was the point of knowing that? It wouldn't help him keep the bullies away. Hiccup did his best to avoid them though… In fact, he thanked his lucky stars for his small size. He was so thin that it was easy to hide himself behind the other students and get away. It didn't always work out but he was just happy whenever it did.

He loved school because he loved to study. It was something that he was just naturally good at. He loved reading books; he would be delighted to spend days or even weeks at a library if he could. The teachers all adored him. He was at the top of almost every class he took. Hiccup was a fast learner too. In fact, he's a genius; the others seem to think so anyway; even if they're snarky about it most of the time.

He didn't have a lot of friends but he wasn't a loner either. People came to him when they needed help with their homework and he was just happy to help them out. They'd thank him and leave; they always left but that was okay… Hiccup preferred books over people any day.

 **Bark, bark!**

 _And animals too_ … Hiccup smiled and turned around to meet a hyper active dog wagging its tail happily at him. He reached out a hand to pet its head. It slobbered all over his hand in the process. "Ew! Toothless! How many times have I told you not to do that!" he scolded. But the dog didn't seem to be bothered by that, in fact it only made the dog happier. Hiccup shook his head. "You're incorrigible,"

 **Bark, bark! (** _You know it!)_

"Okay, listen. I would love to stay here all day and play." _No lie… he really would love that._ "But I gotta go to school… I'm already late so… Shoo!"

Hiccup resumed walking without looking back because he knew Toothless would follow him. The adorable thing always did. Toothless was his best friend for as long as he could remember. The tail-wagger made him laugh whenever he was sad. Toothless was a stray and still is, sort of. Since the orphanage didn't allow dogs inside Hiccup couldn't keep him but that didn't mean he didn't have a dog. He sneaked out food every single day to feed the little trouble maker. Toothless stayed at a dumpster just behind the building Hiccup lived in. He seemed to magically know where Hiccup would be at all times. When his owner wasn't at the orphanage or at school he was with him. Even After school Toothless would be waiting for him outside; sitting there obediently, tongue sticking out, tail wagging like it was about to fall off. The only thing missing for the black hound was a collar. Hiccup would get one for him someday.

Hiccup waved to toothless and crossed the school gate and ran up the stairs, rushed to his locker, grabbed whatever books he needed and hurried off to his first class.

He was in such a hurry that he didn't see where he was going and bumped into someone causing whatever books he was holding to fall down. "Hey!"

The student who bumped into him didn't even stop to help him. He just heard a sorry and then footsteps run away from him. He rolled his eyes; crouching down to pick up his books _. Some people just had no manners_ …

He entered Latin class with an ' _I'm sorry I'm late'_ apology to the teacher but she just waved her arm in dismissal and motioned him to come in. He took the seat up front where he usually sat; head still bowed.

The teacher told them that this would be a free period due to the lack of students. Hiccup raised his head and looked around the class for the first time and noticed that the class was nearly empty. He faced the teacher again with a confused look plastered on his face. Mrs. Polly sat at her desk and was rubbing her temples in concentration… _either that or she must have a really big headache._

Hiccup pulled out his notebook and began jotting down points from the other research books he had borrowed from the school's library. _Why waste time throwing rockets and paper balls when you can gain some knowledge instead?_ Speaking of rockets- one just struck his head and landed near his feet. He didn't bother picking it up. He just rolled his eyes at the snickers coming from behind him. He said nothing though, just continued to do what he was doing _. You know what they say; Ignorance is bliss. If I just ignore them they'll stop… eventually…_ he hoped and resumed his task of learning more about the dead language. It never seized to fascinate him.

First period went by without any incident. Hiccup was now at his locker putting away his books when he heard a familiar voice insult him. He groaned loudly and resisted the urge to bang his head into the locker door.

"Well, well, well…" Brett smirked cruelly and strode over to where Hiccup stood, his friend following him close behind. "If it isn't the orphan toothpick."

The first thing that Hiccup noticed was that one of Brett's cronies weren't with him. _That's strange… they're always together,_ always playing follow the ring master; which in this case was Brett. Maybe the jerk hadn't come to school today, just like majority of the other students _. Is there some sort of a connection here? Why are there so less students here today?_ Did he miss some special announcement or something?

"Did you get it?" Brett asked stretching out his hand to Hiccup.

 _Of course I did. You threatened to flush my head down the toilet if I didn't, remember?_ But Hiccup didn't dare say that out loud. Instead, he answered the question by pulling out a file from his bag and handing it over to the bully.

Brett and his friend looked through the file. "You made three copies right?"

Hiccup nodded mutely. This was a regular routine between them. Hiccup not only had to do his homework but also had to do it three more times; once for Brett and twice again for his subservient sidekicks.

"Don't forget about the History project tomorrow, peewee." Brett and Scott laughed.

Hiccup convinced himself that it was for his own good. Doing it extra number of times was good practice for him… The more homework he did; the better he'd do in exams and quizzes. The only thing is that he hated being so submissive to these jerks. He wished he had the backbone to tell them what he really thought of them; to tell them to do their own work; _to tell them_ \- "No."

They stopped snickering and suddenly the air around them became thick. One of the bullies growled. "What did you say?"

"Having trouble hearing?" Hiccup had no idea where this courage was coming from, but it felt good. _This is it, there's no going back._ He was going to get beat up for this; _might as well go all the way._ Besides he was sure he wouldn't get another chance like this… even if he lived long enough to maybe get one. "Though I wouldn't be surprised; anyone would go deaf if they had to hear your voi-"

"You little punkas-" The rest of Brett's cuss words flew past Hiccup as he was slammed against the lockers. The back of the brunette boy's head hit the lockers so hard that he began to see stars. He groaned _At least I don't have to worry about banging my head against the locker door anymore… I've got these guys doing it for me._ Hiccup shut his eyes tight and waited for the inevitable collision between fists and face but it never came.

"What's going on here?" The principal called from the open doors of his office. Another thing that Hiccup thanked his lucky stars for. The principal's office was pretty close to his lockers so any noise would easily reach his ears. The lack of students also helped him this time. The racket the bullies make were usually drowned out by the general noise of students when they leave their classes but not this time. The principal must have heard him getting bullied. _All hail principal Rolkins!_

"Uh, nothing's going on," Brett said hooking Hiccup's head under his arm. "We were just having a friendly little chat."

"Uh huh," Principal Rolkins didn't believe it for a second. "I don't have the patience to deal with you today, Mr. Kubart. Break it up before I decide to suspend you again."

"Sure thing, Mr. Rolkins," Brett said unhooking Hiccup's head but as he did, he whispered into the skinny boy's ear. "Twelve o' clock, Anety Park. You and me… Be there!" He said shoving Hiccup into the lockers one more time before walking off.

Hiccup did everything he could not to slump to the floor. His knees were shaking so bad that it would put a Chihuahua on a winter day to shame. He held on to the locker's handle for support and breathed in deeply as he heard Scott say. "Don't be late, Gesundheit… or else."

 _Twelve o' clock at the park. I must be pretty fortunate. I mean, who else would be lucky enough to know the exact time and place of their death?_

Hiccup's day after that was pretty much normal, except that he was plotting all the different ways that he could possibly think of to get out of the mess that he created. Right now the plan was to sneak out the back entrance of the school before the clock struck twelve.

Hiccup starred at the wall clock intensely. Watching the second hand move; hearing every tick sound it made; waiting as every tick meant he had one second less to live on this Earth. He didn't wait for the bell to ring; he was out the door and flying down the stairs before it even had a chance to ring. He could see the door only a few feet away from him, just a few more steps and-

"Where are you off to in such a hurry?"

Hiccup winced as he saw Scott step through the door; back inside the school and stood between the brunette and his freedom. "I told Brett you were too chicken to meet us at the park by yourself… So I'm here to escort you… to a place called hell."

Scott grabbed Hiccup's skinny bicep and tugged hard; dragging the stumbling teen with him till they reached the park where Brett waited for them with his arms crossed. "Huh… guess you were right about him, Scotty."

"Told you. Now you owe me five bucks," Scott smirked and pushed Hiccup to the ground causing the latter to drop to his hands and knees.

"Yeah, yeah…" Brett glared at Scott and then back at Hiccup. He reached down and pulled the brunette boy's backpack from him. "You won't be needing this anymore," the bully said as he threw the bag to Scott who instantly began barbarically tearing through it; dumping all of Hiccup's things onto the ground.

Hiccup never took his eyes off the blond bully in front of him. Brett was towering over him; smirking down at him and glaring at the same time. "Didn't your mommy ever tell you it's not safe to pick a fight with guys bigger than you?" the bully spoke up finally; bending down so that his face was only inches away from Hiccups. "Oh wait… that's right she didn't!"

"More like she couldn't…" Came a chortle from behind him.

"Yeah and I don't blame her… Who would wanna keep you?" Brett suddenly reeled back his leg and kicked Hiccup in the stomach.

Hiccup felt all the air leave his lungs. For a second he forgot to breathe. He fell to the ground and curled up as vicious kicks and punches landed mercilessly on his face, back, arms, legs. "Trash like you should be thrown out."

"Your own mom and dad didn't want you,"

"We're doing the world a favor,"

"We won't stop till you beg for our forgiveness!"

"Beg!"

The problem was that Hiccup couldn't beg. He felt like he was suffocating. He couldn't even muster a scream. He felt small, he felt weak and worthless. All he could do was protect his head and chest and pray to the heavens that the hurting would stop soon.

And as if the heaven's answered his prayers, the hurting stopped; but not the pain. The pain was still there… _Well, serves him right for not being specific about what he wanted._ Hiccup dared to open his eyes. The two bullies standing above him were paying attention to something else. Hiccup didn't care what it was. He was just happy it was not on him anymore. He wanted to just lay there and drift off into peaceful oblivion but something was nagging him to stay awake; it was telling him that if he gave in now it was the last thing he would ever do. _Darn you, instincts! Why can't you just let me sleep?_ So Hiccup stayed awake. He craned his neck to see what they were looking at.

A few meters away were two cops lumbering toward them. Heads dangling from side to side, arms stretched out and it sounded like they were… _moaning?_

"Is that officer Ryder?" one of the bullies asked the other.

"Yeah… What's wrong with him and his partner?"

"They must be drunk… Haha!"

"Drunk cops on duty!"

While the two knuckleheads were busy laughing their lungs out, Hiccup crawled a few feet away from them and stood up slowly; still keeping an eye on the cops. They didn't look drunk, well, they acted like they were but there was something else too… They looked pale and sick and… _dead_. He saw that as they came closer they had gradually gained momentum and were now literally charging at the two unsuspecting boys.

Hiccup yelled out to them to look out but it was too late as the two cops tackled Brett to the ground. "What the hell?! Get 'em of me!"

Scott stopped laughing and looked at the struggle with a panicked expression on his face before he dashed off in the opposite direction. "Scott wait! Help me, man! Oh god!" But it was no use. Scott had already jumped the park fence and had disappeared out of sight.

Hiccup was paralyzed with fear. He couldn't move! Everything in him was screaming at him to snap out of it and run like hell but he just couldn't. Hiccup starred at the gruesome scene playing out in front of him.

One of the cops, who Hiccup assumed was Officer Ryder was biting Brett's neck while the other monster-cop was ripping Brett's arm from his body like a deranged mad animal. Blood was gushing everywhere; staining everything. Brett thrashed vigorously but in vain. The monster cops were aggressively tearing him apart … _body part by body part._

The only thing more spine chilling than the gore was Brett's screaming. It was a scream that would haunt Hiccup for the rest of his life. But just like that the screaming stopped and was replaced by gurgling noises. He was choking on his own blood. Hiccup couldn't see his face but he didn't want to either.

One of the maniacal cops stopped eating the flesh and slowly, menacingly looked up at the brunette boy with hunger evident on its distorted face and Hiccup's heart stopped at that very second. _Oh god! I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die just like Brett!_ Tears stung his eyes as he backed away from the psychotic monster-cop that was advancing towards him.

Hiccup was ready to bolt but there was nowhere to go; Brett and Scott had decided to bring him here; to the corner most part of the park to avoid any witnesses. The only way out was through the two scary-to-death cops. Hiccup frantically looked to his left and right. His torn up backpack and things were lying only a few feet away from him. If he could just get to it, there was a compass in there that he could use to defend himself. The only problem was the lunatic monster cop in between him and his stuff.

Hiccup had to chance it. It was either just die or die trying. He was no hero but he had to try and save himself. That way he'd have no regrets when he went to heaven. If anyone up there asks, he can say _'Hey, At least I tried'_ So, he suddenly jumped forward; narrowly avoiding the blood soaked grabby hands of the monster cop but tripped and fell in the process.

Hiccup wildly clawed at the ground to get to his things. His fingers just barely brushed his bag when hands grabbed his legs and pulled harshly. Hiccup blindly swung his fist and felt it connect with something slimy and sticky. He didn't care what it was he only cared that it bought him a few seconds. He kicked at the horrid creature to propel himself forward and snagged his empty backpack and rolled onto his back just in time for the monster to propel itself at him; mouth wide open, ready to take a big bite out of Hiccup's thin nick.

When the putrid creature's face came close enough, Hiccup thrust the empty bag at it; effectively covering its head. He didn't waste time as he quickly wrapped the bag's shoulder straps around its neck and secured it tightly. He pushed the struggling, clawing creature off of him and wavered to his feet only to be slammed back down.

Hiccup saw stars for the second time of the day. He was too dazed to do anything now. Crazy-Officer-Ryder had slammed into him blindly and was now clawing at his face. Whatever adrenaline he had earlier, left his body. He couldn't fight anymore. _This was it… Goodbye world!_ At least he tried. He really did.

Just when the teen thought all hope was lost he heard something that he thought he would never hear again. It brought so much of indescribable joy to his heart.

 **Bark, bark!**

 _His best friend! Toothless!_

The black canine ferociously attacked the cop; effectively knocking it off Hiccup. Toothless stood strong and bold between its owner and the enemy. It growled threateningly at the inhuman swaying creature in front of it; all teeth and gums showing. Toothless didn't allow the monster to take even a step closer as it pounced with great agility.

 **Bark, bark!** ( _Get out of here! I got this!)_

Hiccup obeyed his dog and scrambled to his feet and took off blindly. He had absolutely no doubt in his mind that Toothless could take care of himself. He was the greatest dog in the world after all. Toothless would come back for him, he always did, _and he always will._

Hiccup left the park and dashed across the road to get to the other side when all of a sudden, something caught his leg and he tripped. He was aware enough to see a car heading straight at him and heard a loud screeching sound but it was too late to do anything about it. He was in midair when he felt the car hit his side and then darkness. Hiccup felt nothing for a few moments.

 _I'm dead… I just know it, I'm dead…_

 _After all that… I get killed by getting run over by a car. Sorry Toothless!_

 _No wait… I can still feel pain… But dead people aren't supposed to feel pain. Argh! My head!_

"Hey… You okay man?"

 _Who's talking?_

"Ugh… What happened?" _My head's killing me._ Hiccup brought his hand up to rub his aching head.

"We kinda hit you with our car, my bad," Hiccup saw a boy standing at the side of the Chevy. He saw the guy turn away from him and give someone a thumbs up. He had no clue what was going on. Who is this guy…? And a better question is why does he have white hair? _Danny Phantom? Is that really you?_ Wait… He was hit by a car? _That's right!_ He remembers now.

"Oh…" Was all Hiccup managed to say before he saw a gun in the white haired boy's hand. He instantly became alert and jumped to his feet and stepped away from the latter. "Oh!"

"Hey, whoa! Relax buddy," Hiccup saw the guy slowly put away his gun and heard him say. "I'm not gonna hurt you. What's your name?"

Hiccup calculated what to say. Does it matter? Should he just start running for his life again? For all he knew this guy could be a lunatic with a gun. _Yeah, like I need any more crazies in my life._ But something told him that he could trust the guy in the blue hoodie. _Well, my instincts haven't been wrong yet._ So he decided to answer truthfully. "Hiccup… M-my name's Hiccup."

* * *

So, what did you guys think? Did Brett the Bully deserve to get killed?

Feel free to comment and **review** guys!

Don't be afraid… I won't let my caged Zombies loose on ya… At least, _not yet_ anyway.

*Laughs maniacally*

*Cough cough*

O_O

*Drinks water from a Jack Frost mug*

*Laughs maniacally again*


	6. Chapter 5

**A.N:** Okay guys! The next chapter is here.  
 **  
Shout Outs!**

 **AvaniAcrux:** IKR! Danny Phantom was one of the Best things to ever happen to Nick. I was so mad when it got cancelled. I WANTED MOREE! It's a brilliant cartoon that needed more recognition. It deserved better dammit! Anyways... Don't worry about Merida I have just the thing in mind for her. *wink wink* (::)(::)(::)  
 **ivylene.h** **:** They will. Just hang in there and stay with me. I've got loads in store for our beloved four. (::)(::)

 **Okay, now please ENJOY!**

* * *

 **Chapter 5: Please! Drive Straight Before You Crash!**

"Hiccup? What kinda name is that?" Jack almost sniggered; _almost._

Hiccup opened his mouth to retaliate but the strange white haired guy didn't give him a chance.

"Never mind, it doesn't matter. Look, we're kinda in a hurry here so…"

"Where are you going?"

Jack didn't have the time for this crap. Picking up strangers was the last thing on his mind; it was just one more person to take care of; one more he'd be responsible for. And Jack didn't need any more responsibilities. If there was one thing that Jack sucked at, it was at being responsible. "Nowhere you're going. So if you could just move outta the way-"

 **Bark! Bark! Bark! Bark!**

All heads turned towards the dog that came running out of the park followed by two brainless man-eaters.

"Shit!" Jack cussed turning his head to the brunette boy. "Hurry up and get in the car!"

"Bu-"

"Damn it! Get in the car or I'm leaving you here!" Jack rebuked already pulling open the driver's side door and getting inside.

Hiccup ran over to the back door, opened it and slid in; all in one swift motion. "Wait! We have to wait for my dog!"

"No way!" Jack snapped; already putting the car into drive.

"NO! I'm not leaving Toothless behind!" Hiccup yelled angrily keeping his side of the car door open for his companion to join them. "He saved my life."

"Jack, I don't think we should leave the do-"

"You're both out of your freaking minds!" Jack half-yelled, half-hissed. He saw the dog come up about a hundred feet away _. Close enough…_ He told himself as he slammed the accelerator down hard.

The car began to move forward; gaining speed quickly with Hiccup yelling at the driver "What are you doing!? Stop! We have to-" He didn't have to finish that sentence when he saw Toothless running up to his side of the car. _This hoodie guy must have calculated that Toothless would be able to catch up_. _Guess he's not as heartless as I thought._ Hiccup quickly slid away from the door a bit, giving room for his best friend to jump inside. "C'mon Toothless! JUMP!"

Toothless didn't hesitate. His master said _'jump'_ and so it did. Hiccup was already grabbing Toothless by the back of its neck, pulling his little savior into the car. _I should really get you a collar soon._

Hiccup almost had the car door closed but a decaying hand stopped him from doing that. One of the monstrous man eaters had also managed to hold onto the car door with one hand and the upholstery of the seat with the other.

The car was filled with frenzy as it swerved from right to left and vise-versa. _Who wouldn't be in frenzy?_ They were dragging a decaying corpse along with them, for Christ's sake. Rapunzel was screaming so high pitched that Jack was sure she could break glass right now. He was also pretty sure he had gone partially deaf too. That combined with the dog's non-stop barking was seriously giving him a killer headache. Hiccup was trying hard to close the door despite the huge chunk of living-dead flesh in the way but it didn't seem to be working. The hard-to-kill Zombie still held on with a tight grip and was trying to get in.

 _Enough is enough,_ _time to take charge of this situation._

"Rapunzel! Stop! Listen to me!" Jack yelled in a commanding voice. He kept shifting his eyes between the panicked green-eyed girl and the road. They would be as good as dead if he crashed. "Listen! I need you to help me out here… Open the dashboard and see if you can find anything that will help Hiccup get the Zombie off the car. Can you do that for me?"

It was a question of choice… but really, she had no choice. He needed her to do this. She can't say no, she had to do it. Jack saw Rapunzel nod tightly from the corner of his eye. She searched the dashboard but only found pieces of paper, a wash cloth, a perfume bottle and other useless junk.

 _Wait a minute… The frying pan_! That would sure be of some use to them right now. She bent down to pick up the pan from where it had fallen near her feet. Her fingers searched for it until she caught hold of it but something wasn't right. Rapunzel pulled and pulled but for some reason it wouldn't budge. _Oh god! It's no use! I can't get it loose!_ She was just wasting time; _precious time_ that they didn't have! She abandoned the pan and went back to the dashboard.

Rapunzel pulled out the perfume bottle and held it high so Jack could see it too "Will this work?"

Jack spared a second to see what Rapunzel had found. "We're not trying to make the dead sucker smell pretty," he barked. "That's not going to work."

"We should at least try!" She didn't wait for Jack's response as she began climbing into the back seat. She snuck up beside Hiccup and the barking dog and proceeded to spray the Zombie in the eyes. Its vacant white eyes still starred at them with hunger; jaws snapping viciously at the wind. She continues to spray the perfume into its milky eyes but to no effect _. Darn it!_ She should have listened to Jack… She shouldn't have wasted time with this. _I'm such an idiot!_ "It's not working!" She yelled in panic.

"It's okay… Just look for something else you can use," came another command from the driver's seat. Jack didn't want anybody panicking; well it was too late for that… What he meant was, he didn't want their panic to escalate more. It was hard enough to keep himself calm but he had to keep these two calm as well. Jack then called out to the other passenger of the car. "Dude, you need to do everything you can to stop the Zombie from getting into the car,"

"Easy for you to say," was the response he got, followed by a grunt.

"Use your legs to kick it," Jack hollered over his shoulder; driving the car into another pot hole and receiving another grunt from the back seat. "Be careful, don't let it bite you."

"No duh!" Hiccup said with clenched teeth as he repeatedly kicked at the Zombie's face. Either he had very weak kicks or the dead-robo-cop was freakishly strong, because Hiccup was still unable to dislodge the creature.

"I found an umbrella!" Rapunzel shouted with excitement. This could help them get rid of the ravenous creature. It wasn't the pointy headed one but it will have to do. She handed the umbrella to Hiccup who took it from her and jammed it down the Zombie's throat as far as it would go. Blood and goo oozed out of numerous places of its neck. Toothless meanwhile mangled at the decaying hand that held onto the seat and Jack drove over another pot hole that was larger than the other ones.

All their combined effort made the Zombie lose its grip on the car and it let go; limbs and body rolling after the car before coming to a completely stop. It laid there not moving with the umbrella still sticking out of its disfigured face.

The three occupants of the car breathed in relief as Jack steadied the car again, bringing it back to the center of the road; Rapunzel, who climbed back into the front seat and proceeded to clean up the mess she made while searching; Hiccup, who closed the door and locked it before slumping on the seat in exhaustion and Toothless, who sat next to its master, wagging its tail happily.

* * *

Okay, okay, I know this chapter was slow and short. But I promise you're gonna be in for a shock for what I have planned for Chapter 6. *cue evil laughter*

Please Review and let me know what you thought ^_^ Your reviews mean a lot to me!  
Thank you!

Take Care,  
Until next time.  
Byeee!


	7. Chapter 6

**AN: ** Hi guys! How's it going? ^_^ I'm back with a new chapter with a ending that's gonna freak you out (*fingers crossed*) Just promise me you wont come at me with pitch forks and torches after this. Lol XD

A huge thanks to all those who've favorited and followed! As always, I love ya!

 **SHOUT-OUTS** (Or more like Shout out :-P)

 **AvaniAcrux:** IKR! Even when I'm having a bad day, DP will never fail to cheer me up! God! What a lovely show! (::)(::)(::)

So without further ado. Here we go! **ENJOY!  
**

* * *

 **Chapter 6: What Happens When You're Bitten?**

"So, where are we going?" Hiccup asked looking at the blue eyed teen through the rear view mirror. But he didn't answer, instead the blond sitting next to him did.

"To my place," She said with a smile turning back in her seat so she was facing their new friend. "My parents are there."

"Oh," Hiccup didn't want to ask too many details. Even though they saved him and let him hitchhike with them, it didn't mean they wouldn't abandon him in the middle of a town crowed with the _Living-Dead_. The guy in the blue hoodie looked like he might do just that at any second… but the girl? She was different.

Rapunzel was still smiling at him so he shyly smiled back too. She stretched out her hand. "Hi! My name is Rapunzel and this is Jack. What's your name?"

"Hiccup…" he said taking her hand and giving it a timid shake _._ He knew who she was. Almost everybody knew who she was. Rapunzel's one of the most popular and liked person in school. They sat next to each other in most of the classes in school. Rapunzel sat a few desks away and for whatever reason they never talked to each other before now. Occasionally though, when they made eye contact she'd always smile at him.

And Jack- _why does that name sound so familiar?_ Of course it was a very common name but that name with this guy's face… Maybe he'd seen him somewhere before. But Hiccup would have surely remembered someone with silver hair if he'd seen him before. Oh well, as long as he wasn't getting bullied.

"Hiccup? That's a cute name," Rapunzel giggled at the boy's red cheeks and shifted her eyes to the dog who was now taking a nap with its head resting on his lap "And this must be Toothless,"

"Yeah…" Hiccup whispered with a peaceful happy look on his face, stroking the dog's head gently. He then looked back up. "Uh… Thank you for saving us,"

The blonde smiled again and subtly gave him a nod in acknowledgment before turning back forward and looking out of her window.

They drove in comfortable silence for a while. The only sound heard was the soft purr of the engine and Rapunzel occasionally telling Jack directions to her house.

"Um… Where exactly _is_ your house?" Hiccup asked out of curiosity.

"It's up on Maple Street," she replied.

 _Maple Street, huh? Should've guessed._ Hiccup had only seen that place once. Only the super-rich people lived there. Though, Rapunzel didn't seem like the show off type, plus she was a lot nicer than the other rich kids, _who think they own the whole world by the way._

"So why aren't you guys taking the main road?" He was glad they didn't take the main road… if they had then Hiccup would never have run into them and he really appreciated the company right now _. Who would want to be alone at a time like this?_

"Cause there was some sorta accident there," this time Jack spoke up. He sounded a little distracted "We had to take a detour."

"Yeah… That's why we're stuck taking the longer route," Rapunzel said sadly still looking out the window. They would have reached her home by now if it wasn't for the stupid road block.

Jack glanced at Rapunzel for a moment from the corner of his eyes before returning his gaze back to the road. He felt bad for her. She said the reason she was out and not in school was because her parents were sick and they needed medicine, and she was taking care of them. Jack knew in the back of his mind that Rapunzel's parents were going to turn into those man-eating-monsters, _if they hadn't already_. Sickness, tiredness, headaches… just like David's symptoms; those were all sighs of turning.

Also, judging by the deserted town where most were dead and others were just lumbering around without a soul, he was 90% sure Rapunzel's parents weren't her parents anymore. But he hoped he was wrong, _for her sake._

The three of them drove a few more miles when they heard a whining noise coming from the back seat. It was Toothless who was whining.

"Hey, is there anything in the car that's eatable?" Hiccup asked trying to sooth the animal next to him.

"Uh… I don't think so," Jack looked over at Rapunzel for confirmation. She was the one who searched the car. She just shook her head _no_ , so he looked at the rear view mirror at Hiccup. "I know a grocery store nearby but we'll have to take a little detour again to get there though." _I'm sure they have plenty of things to snack on;_ for them and the dog.

"Toothless is getting restless and all that fighting and kicking dead-corpses has made me a little hungry." Hiccup said shyly.

"Yeah," Jack agreed _. Fighting those things would make anyone hungry… and would also make you lose your appetite at the same time._ Only then did Jack realize how hungry he was. He then remembered that he didn't get a chance to have any breakfast in the morning or any dinner last night. "We'll stop and get some supplies while we're at it." _Who knows how long we'll be on the road._

If Rapunzel's parents _have_ turned then they'd have to leave the town as soon as possible. Maybe the other cities weren't Zombie infested yet. And if her parents _weren't_ infected then they'd take them along too. _Great, more people he'd have to be around. Yay! This was going to be fun… Not!_

"But what about my par-" Rapunzel started to say.

"Listen Punzie," Jack interrupted. "We need to fuel up," _especially if your parents turn out to be those things._ But he didn't feel the need to say that part out loud. They needed to be ready and fit to fight or to escape. It wouldn't help any of them if they pass out in a dangerous situation.

Rapunzel sighed and let her shoulders drop in defeat. She knew he was right. They had to keep their energy levels up. How was she supposed to take care of her parents if she ended up passing out before she even entered the house? Besides she had to admit, she was getting kinda hungry too. A trip to the grocery store didn't sound so bad. "We'll make it quick then,"

 _Wait… did he just call me_ _ **Punzie?**_

"We'll be in n' out before you can say Jack Robinson," Jack smirked when he heard Rapunzel giggle. She had the most adorable giggle he's ever heard. He felt a strange feeling in his chest; like a million butterflies fluttering inside. He let his mind wander at what it was as he took a right turn for the detour. _Was it love? Nah… That would be silly_. They had only just met. Maybe it was just the hunger making his mind _think_ it was love. _Yup, that's it...It's the hunger… Jeez, I'm starving!_

They were only a few hundred feet away from the grocery store when Jack stopped the car but didn't turn off the engine. Both Hiccup and Rapunzel looked quizzically at him. He spoke coldly, without taking his eyes off the building up front "I'm not gonna sit here and hope or pretend that there aren't gonna be any Zombies in there."

Rapunzel and Hiccup glanced at each other and then looked back at Jack when the brunette spoke up. "So what do we do?"

"You need a weapon," Jack said to Hiccup and then turned to face Rapunzel "Where's that bottle of perfume?"

"I dropped it in the backseat I think,"

"Okay, see if you can find a lighter in the dashboard… and you," Jack said pointing at his backseat passenger. "Find that bottle."

Jack hoped that Rapunzel would find a lighter. He knew David smoked sometimes; mostly when things didn't work out at work. His uncle didn't want Jack to know about it but he still knew; he always knew. He'd see David leaning against the Chevy; smoking… sometimes weeping silent tears. Then David would suddenly throw the cigarette down, crush it with his boot and would use the bottle of perfume on himself to get rid of the smell of smoke before heading back inside the house. David never told him why he wept and Jack never asked. Only then did he realize how little he knew about his uncle's life.

"I got it," Hiccup called out; bringing the other teen out of his thoughts.

"Good," Jack hollered, turning to the rummaging girl beside him. "Rapunzel?"

"Yup," She squeaked excitedly holding up the silver lighter. "I knew I saw it in here earlier."

"Okay," Jack said taking the lighter from her and giving it to Hiccup. "Just start spraying and hold the flame up to it. It'll be just like using a flamethrower."

"A… f-flamethrower?" Hiccup gulped, suddenly not liking what Jack wanted him to do. He's never attacked anybody before… well, apart from the dead thing he _kinda_ attacked today. But that was different… It was only out of self-defense, besides he didn't kill the should-be-dead Zombie. He just… _bagged it!_ He was afraid of tiny little lizards for Pete's sake! How the heck was he going to do this?

"Just burn anything that looks like the walking-dead," the silver haired boy said sharply. "Rapunzel, the pan will have to do for now but stick close to me. Got it?"

"Yeah…" She whispered looking down at her lap. She wished she wasn't so dependent on him. She could pull her own weight. She knew she could so why is she just agreeing to let him take on the burden of protecting her? He doesn't even know her…

Jack wordlessly drove to the store and parked right in front of the glass doors. It would be a quick get-away if it came down to it. He signaled the other occupants of the vehicle that it was safe to exit the car once he scanned the parking lot. _No Zombies in sight_. Jack stepped out and pulled the gun out of his waistband and cocked it.

Once Rapunzel got out of the car she crouched near the door to see what had gotten her pan stuck. It looked like it wasn't stuck at all… In fact, it would have been easy to get it out if she hadn't been so busy panicking. She was pulling at it from the wrong angle. If she'd just stayed calm like Jack told her to, then she would have been able to pull it out properly. _Next time, I'm keeping it right beside me on the seat._

Hiccup got out of the car but held out a hand to his whimpering companion. "Sorry Toothless, but I think it will be safer if you stayed in the car," Hiccup smiled and petted his dog lovingly. "Don't worry, bud. I'll bring something back for you too."

 **Bark! Bark!**

With that, the three of them cautiously tippy toed into the grocery store. It was a total wreck. It looked like the place was hit by a freaking hurricane. They could barely see the floor with all the mess there was. There were streaks of blood decorating the shelves, machines and walls. Different products of food were all scattered around the ground; some covered with blood, some crushed and others barely touched. Trolleys laid haphazardly here and there, most of them toppled over.

The only area in the store that looked untouched was the frozen foods section. In fact, it looked like how it would normally look on any other day. The frozen goods sat idly on its respective shelves in complete contrast with the rest of the store. Jack shared a _'did you notice that'_ look with Hiccup and by the looks of it, the skinny kid did notice. "Grab a cart," Jack ordered.

Hiccup did as he was told and went to pull a cart from the long line of shopping carts. He tried pulling at the first one but it wouldn't give so he began pulling it with a little more force. It still wouldn't give. The brunette then went to the side of the row of shopping carts. He grabbed ahold of the second shopping cart and placed his leg on the first one and started pushing it forcefully.

Unfortunately for him, the first cart jerked loose suddenly and rolled itself into a huge stack of canned foods; or whatever was left of it. The clattering sound of can hitting can and floor seemed to echo throughout the lifeless store.

The three teens stood like statues; wide eyes, weapons ready, hearts racing. If there are any sleeping Zombies around, that racket would have surely woken them up. Four minutes and thirty seven seconds later they began to relax.

Jack sent a heated glaze in Hiccups directing. That little accident could've cost them their lives. He rubbed his hand over his face, trying to calm down. He saw Rapunzel holding the frying pan to her chest for dear life. He could see light tremors coming from her body. He sighed. The sooner they get this over with the better. He motioned for Hiccup to take the cart into the preserved food section and get them as much as he could fit in there. Hiccup nodded mutely and disappeared behind one of the isles with his cart.

Jack grabbed a fallen cart and headed straight to the candy racks section. He pushed whatever was left on the racks into the cart and answered Rapunzel's unasked question. "I'm a sugar junkie…" He turned around and smirked at her while ripping apart a candy bar wrapper; stuffing as much as he could into his mouth all at once. "Plus they taste sweeter when they're free."

She didn't say anything. She only smiled at him and stuffed different fruits into a plastic bag and proceeded to put them into Jack's cart. _Boys and they're junk food… At least now there was something healthy that they could take home_. She was going to do some grocery shopping anyway. They were almost out of supplies since her parents had been too sick to stock up. Her mind was nowhere but with her mother and father. She prayed to god that they were alright. She wouldn't accept anything else.

Jack went a bit further into the store; closer to the storage areas leaving Rapunzel to collect the fruits that she seemed so intent on taking with them. He wanted to go over to where Hiccup was, rip a packet of chips open and hog whatever he could. But not here…Once they were back in the car or in a safer place he would.

 _Well, at least Hiccup's little accident proved one thing. There weren't any Zombies inside the store…_ but that couldn't be more farther from the truth.

There's a low growl and a flash of movement; a zombie woman followed by two zombie men jumped out of one of the storage rooms at Jack as if just to prove him wrong. Jack; who was completely caught off guard fell on his back as the zombies landed on top of him. Because of the sudden attack Jack's gun had fallen from his hand and skidded under one of the shelves. "Shit! Argh!"

He picked up the first thing that came to his right hand and hurled it at the Zombie closest to him; the one that was going for his neck. The bottle of chocolate syrup hit the female zombie's jaws causing it to snap shut and the zombie itself to fall back. Jack kicked out at the male Zombie who was making a grab for his legs but it was too late. The Zombie held onto his calf with surprising strength in its blood soaked hands. Jack struggled to pull his left leg away while kicking at it with the other leg but in vain, as the disgusting Zombie chomped down hard on his foot. He screamed in pain.

" **ARGHHH!** "

Rapunzel had been tearing another plastic bag when she suddenly heard Jack yell out and turned just in time to see him fall on his back; three Zombies landing on top of him. Fear clenched her rapid beating heart. _No! Don't panic! Don't panic! Jack needs your help!_

She grabbed her frying pan and raced to Jack. She wasted no time in swigging it at the male Zombie which was about to bite Jack's left arm. The Zombie's head almost made a 180 turn as it let go of Jack and fell back on its side. She swung the pan down hard on the Zombie's bald head; splitting it open instantly. Blood splattered on her face but she had no time to be grossed out by that.

She whipped around at the sound of Jack's screaming to see the other male Zombie bite down hard on his sneaker. She quickly adjusted her blood and brain coated pan and swung it like a baseball bat at the putrid creature. If the zombie's head was a baseball, it would have gone for a home-run. It let go of Jack's foot and an audible crack was heard. It lay on its side with its jaw slack in an odd angle; clearly dislocated.

As soon as Jack's leg was free he half scrambled, half crawled to the shelf where his gun had skidded to and clawed at the floor underneath it in search for his colt. The female Zombie moaned and tilted her head forward; red strands of hair falling on its once beautiful face. It mindlessly threw itself at Jack just as he pulled out his gun and fired.

 **Bang!**

Silence followed the echo of the gun shot. The only sound that could be heard was Jack's heavy breathing. He was still lying on his back, gun still aimed steadily in front of him; smoke coming out of its barrel. The ugly creature was dead at his feet; a bullet hole in between its hollow eyes.

The sound of a dog barking could be heard in the background. It sounded close, maybe it was Toothless but neither of them paid any attention to it.

Rapunzel sank to her knees and buried her face in her hands; hiding the tears that freely rolled down her cheeks; the bloodied frying pan lying beside her. She saw Jack get bit… Worry and fear clenched her heart tight. What were they going to do now?

 _What am I going to do?_

 _Jack's gonna turn into a_ _ **ZOMBIE**_ _!  
_

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OMG! Please don't hurt me! *hides in a whole for the next week*

So what did you guys think about this chapter? Hate it? Love it? Meh?  
Please do **Review** to let me know!

Until next time,  
Take care!  
Byeeee!


	8. Chapter 7

**A.N:** Yo guys! I'm sorry for the long wait and also, this is gonna be a relatively short chapter so please don't kill me!

 **Thank you all for the favorites and follows! Never forget that I love you! :-*  
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 **Chapter 7: Saving a Damsel in Distress is My Specialty **

**_(A few minutes ago)_**

Hiccup pulled the cart that caused them to nearly have a heart attack through the messy isle of preserved foods. The floor was littered with so much junk that he felt like he had to literally plow through them. He kicked away the packed food with his foot to make way for the trolley to pass through. But at the same time, he salvaged whatever he could and threw them into the cart behind him. In truth, there wasn't all that to salvage from. Most of it was already either destroyed or covered in blood.

"Now… Gotta find something for Toothless," Hiccup whispered to himself. Maybe the meat section would have something he could take with him for his dog. Hiccup left the cart behind and crept to where he assumed the fresh meat was kept. He stopped dead in his tracks at what he saw beside the cash-out counters.

A boy and a girl lay beside each other; shredded to so many pieces that it was hard to make out if they were even human once. Their faces where mangled to the point where even dental records couldn't be used to identify them. But Hiccup knew who they were…

The boy's name was Gregory. He came to him for help with his studies sometimes. The kid was two years younger than him and was terrible at math in particular. Thanks to Hiccup's effective tutoring skills he was able to pass the subject with a 'C-' which the latter was more than happy with. The only way Hiccup was able to recognize him now was because of the tattoo on his bloodied ankle. Gregory had showed it to him proudly one day while he was being tutored. _Poor kid… He didn't deserve this._

And the girl? Her name was Geneviève; a foreign exchange student. Hiccup didn't know all that much about her but she was like Rapunzel. Very popular; mostly because of the French accent that everyone thought was cute. He knew it was her from her skin tone plus he had heard that she was going out with Gregory. So it had to be her.

 _Looks like this was their last date…_ Hiccup thought sadly as he walked past them trying very hard not to throw up at the extremely unpleasant slight.

Hiccup pulled out the bottle of perfume and lighter, that Jack had given him, from inside his brown Jacket pockets and held onto it tightly. The racket he had accidently caused verified that there were no Zombies in the store. He _knew_ that… but something was telling him that he had to be careful; especially after the gory scene he just witnessed.

He spotted the meat counter and ran over to it in a hurry. _Something felt wrong_ , the hair on the back of his neck stood on ends. A gasp left his lips when he saw a Zombie lumbering behind the meat counter; mindlessly. It was a female Zombie; it wore a uniform; which was, of course covered with blood stains. Hiccup could barely see the name tag… It read something like Mari- or Meri- or Mera-… _Miranda, maybe?_ It slowly tilted its unsteady head in his direction and groaned.

Hiccup's fear reached new heights when he saw the Zombie notice him. He fumbled with the lighter in his hand trying to get the flame started while keeping an eye on the dead-girl-Zombie at the same time. It wasn't exactly attacking with enthusiasm; which confused him. Any other Zombie would be at his throat right now. He could see it lazily stumbling towards him from the corner of his eye. He glared at the silver lighter in his hand. "C'mon! Come on!" _Darn these Zippo lighters!_

He flicked at the lighter continuously and relentlessly till he got a small flame going. "YES!" He yelled in triumph, hurriedly pulled off the bottle's top and began spraying it in the Zombie's direction. It was still a good ten feet away from him but he didn't want to chance it suddenly gaining some sort of super speed and tackling him.

Hiccup held the flame to the spray and it instantly caught on fire. He almost dropped the bottle in shock at the sudden burst of heat; the heat was very intense too. Jack was right; _it is like a flamethrower…_

Hiccup frowned at the strange behavior of the Zombie that was coming towards him. It seemed lazy and dull just moments ago but now it was coming at him with more gusto and anger. Its white glassy eyes reflected the flame, making it look like red marbles. It looked just like a demon; a _she-demon_ charging at him like a raging bull. The brunette boy held the flame up higher but stepped back a few steps involuntarily as it came at him.

Unfortunately for him, Zombies began pouring in from all sides. The girl Zombie- _Miranda_ or… whatever her name is was being followed by two other Zombies and behind him, another set of Zombies were charging at him; all with equal gusto and enlivenment. They weren't lumbering or stumbling anymore.

Hiccup dropped the spray bottle; which landed close to his feet before rolling off somewhere. _It wasn't working!_ He broke out in cold-sweat; too fear-stricken to yell for help. He couldn't get his voice to work and his body was paralyzed with terror! This time he was sure he was dead! Jack and Rapunzel are god knows where right now! He wished that the makeshift flamethrower could have been loud and noisy… at least then; they would have heard it and come to his rescue. But they didn't know he was in trouble… No one was going to save him! He was going to die here! He prayed that they'd take good care of Toothless…

 _Oh God! I don't want to die like this!_

 **Bang!**

Hiccup flinched at the gunshot sound… But it was at a distance, which means it wasn't for any of the Zombies near him; which means he was still going to die. _Oh God!_ _Jack! Rapunzel! They must be in trouble too._ Hiccup hoped they were okay. He hoped that at least they would make it out of this mess alive… for his dog's sake at least. They had locked the car and raised all the windows; leaving only a slit for the animal to breathe through before coming into the store. If they all died here, then Toothless was doomed too. He would starve to death in the car. Tears sprung his eyes at the thought of Toothless dying alone in the backseat of some damn car.

Hiccup shut his eyes and waited for the inevitable but instead he heard barking sounds getting closer to him… _Toothless…? Oh great! Now he was hearing things_ …He must be crossing over the _Vail_ or something… _Wait, that can't be right. That only happens if I'm half dead… And if I am, then where's the pain?_

The barking got closer. But it _can't_ be Toothless. He was locked it the car and it was impossible for him to have squeezed through that gap _so how did he manage to get out?_ He opened his eyes to narrow slits just to see his ever faithful companion run over to him and stand in front of him protectively. Just at that second, he felt something whiz past his ear; twice and then one more time. One by one he saw the Zombies drop dead. _But…but how…?_

 _What the hell is going on!?_

"Yah!" A girl's voice yelled out excitedly "I got every one of 'em,"

 _That accent!_

Hiccup shakily turned his head to find the source of the voice. He saw a teenage girl standing proudly at the start of the isle where he had been just moments ago. She stood there smirking at him; one hand on her hip and the other holding a bow loosely at his side.

"Aye… Ta name's Merida Dunbroch. In other words, yer savior," She told him with a thick Scottish accent "Please, hold yer applause, there's nae need ta thank meh."

Hiccup stared for a few moments; too dumb-struck to speak before his eyes rolled back and he fell unconscious.

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That's it for now! I hope you enjoyed!

 **Shout-Outs!**

 **AvaniAcrux:** Haha... Well, I'm not gonna reveal anything yet. And about the smocking thing David does, you'll know more about it as the story goes. And as for your dad, just hang in there sweetie! Here are some extra cookies specially for you (::)(::)(::)(::)(::)  
 **ivylene.h:** Ummm... I can't say anything that's not gonna sound like a spoiler so I'm gonna keep my mouth shut on this one. But here are some cookies instead. All will be known soon. (::)(::)  
 **Dreamer:** HEY! If it isn't my awesome reviewer! Glad to hear from you too! Lol, I'm really happy you desided to give this fic a try. It really means a lot to me! You have no idea! And also, I'm gonna pretend I didn't read that spoiler. XD And that's pretty understandable... I don't want to emotionally damage my lovely readers... too much... XD It's David but yeah... like I said in the before shout out. All will be revealed soon. And don't worry about it. Please take good care of yourself. (::)(::)

Annnnnnd that's it from me this week! Hope you all have a wonderful week ahead! Until next time!  
 **PLEASE REVIEW!** REVIEWS FUEL MY EMPTY CRUEL SOUL!  
Take Care all!  
Byeeeee!


	9. Chapter 8

**A.N:** Well... New Chapter! I'm not gonna dilly dally this time. Let's get right to it. Enjoy! **  
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**Chapter 8: Cool! A Zombie Apocalypse- Can I Join You?**

 ** _(Earlier that day)_**

"Mum, I swear I was'n awake all night," Merida said over the phone, balancing the communication device between her ear and shoulder as she tied the lace of her army boots into a messy knot.

 _I know ya better than ya know yerself, Merida. Don' lie to meh, lassie._

"But tis time am' telling ya the truth," _No she wasn't_. She had been up all night on _eBay_ … shopping for arrows. But she didn't tell her mother that… cause' her mother already knew! Seriously… _How do mums do tha?_

 _Am warning ya, Merida… Behave yerself over there... That's America. It's not like Scotla-_

"Yae, Yae… I know!" Merida interrupted her mother. She and her two elder twin brothers moved here from Scotland about six months ago as transfer students. Her mom and dad would shift to America soon after they have gotten things settled back at home. They sent them money every month; which was more than sufficient for Merida and her brothers to get by with.

The three of them lived in a house belonging to a sweet old lady, who also happened to be the landlord and who also took care of them. Well, took care of _her_ since her brothers were AWOL most of the time. They both would often spend the weekends out of town; partying somewhere. _Selfish lads, they are!_

Merida was left home alone three days a week, every week. But her parents didn't know that. According to them, their two ' _responsible'_ sons took good care of their little sister. _Yae right!_

But she knew better than to tattletale on them. If she did, then her parents would make _all_ of them move back to Scotland and she liked living in America. Why should she pay the price for something her stupid brothers did? Besides she liked to have some time to herself. It meant she could practice on her archery for some more extra time.

Merida was naturally skilled at the sport. She loved it more than anything. It was so thrilling; shooting far of targets, moving targets, hidden targets. You name it, she's shot it.

 _Don' interrupt meh, lassi! Where are yer brothers? They're not picking up their cell. I want ta talk ta them…_

"Hubert and Harris are already a' school," Merida lied effortlessly. She'd done it loads of time and her mother bought it every time too. Sometimes her parents were just too gullible… and too trusting. "Which reminds meh, I got ta get goin' now,"

 _Mer- a…. Tak… care- o… brothe-... W-… -all lat-…_

"Wha? Mum I can't hear ya!" Merida pressed the phone harder against her ear before bringing it down and looking at the screen. The call had gotten disconnected and she had no bars of network either. Merida just shrugged, pocketing her phone. She grabbed her shoulder bag and bow and headed off to school.

She flew down the stairs and stopped by the landlady's front door. She knocked on the door once; Mrs. Pennyworth usually dropped her to school. Merida waited for a few seconds before knocking again and then ringing the doorbell twice but still no sign of the landlady. _Hmm… Weird. Where would she beh at tis time of ta morning?_ She shrugged again. _Looks like am' walkin._ She could take the shortcut through the grocery store to get to the school faster.

Once Merida reached the school she saw that there were even less students today than there were yesterday. The number of students and teachers has been decreasing alarmingly over the past few days. Ever since that huge storm hit their town a few days ago people have been falling sick left and right. _Not to mention the strange disappearances caused by this Jack Frost character._

She peeped into her classroom and saw that there were only a countable number of students there. You could count them all in just two hands.

"Which means tha' they won' beh missin' meh," She whispered slyly to herself. She would rather be in the grounds practicing on her aim ( _not that she needed any practice_ ) than to hang around in a boring classroom listening to never-ending lectures all day. Besides it didn't look like the teacher was very enthusiastic about teaching it to them today anyway.

If she hurried she could easily sneak out of school without anyone noticing. She turned sharply and dashed down the corridor. She glanced behind her to see if anyone saw her running down the hall but that was a mistake as she bumped into someone causing his books to fall from his hands. "Hey!" she heard him say. There wasn't any heat behind those words though.

She would have loved to stay and help the clumsy lad pick up his stuff but she was in a hurry and didn't want to get caught. So she continued to run towards the exit throwing a hurried, "Sorry!" over her shoulder.

She slowed down once she neared the doors that would lead her to freedom. She opened the doors just a little to peer outside. _Good. No one's ther'… Now's ma chance._ She told herself stepping carefully out the doors and skipped down the short flight of stairs. She then dashed to the grounds.

She hoped she'd find her archer buddies there but that hope was quickly dashed as she entered the grounds to find it completely empty. Even though she hoped they would be here she expected them to be absent. No one was into archery the same way she was. _'Oh well'_ She shrugged off her shoulder bag and set it down on the nearest bench. She picked up her bow and began assembling it skillfully. Like she'd been doing it for years… _Heck!_ She had been doing this for years. But this bow was a new and improved one. _More high-tech…_

Merida then grabbed a satchel full of arrows and fastened it to her back. She then grabbed an arrow and proceeded to take aim and then fired at the yellow marked target a few yards away from her. It hit dead center making Merida pump her fist in the air. _Bull's eye!_

She practiced at the grounds for hours without taking a break or missing a single target. She would have kept going but something stopped her. As she took aim; brows knitted in concentration, she saw someone wobble over to the front of her mark. She blinked it surprise and pointed her bow and arrow at the ground. Her confusion turned into frustration fast as she yelled. "Oi! Get yerself away from ther'!" _Befor I accidentally kill ya…_

But the unsteady person ignored her; as if he didn't hear her. The man stumbled a few steps before regaining his footing and then stumbled again. Merida watched him with her mouth hanging open a little. He repeated it like it was some sort of a process. _Was tis guy on crack? Is he drunk o' somethin'?_ She rubbed a hand over her face with exaggeration and huffed before squaring her shoulders and striding over to the strange man. _If he didn't move away on his own, then she'll have to make him._

When she was close enough, she saw the man tilt his head in her direction before turning to face her and she did a double take at what she saw. The man had no iris for starters… His eyes were completely white. The skin on his face was peeling off. He looked pale but his arms where in puke green in color. He opened his mouth to moan and Merida saw that he was missing majority of his teeth. He began stumbling towards her in a hurry; his gross green arms stretching itself in her direction; grabbing at nothing but air.

The costume looked too real to be a disguise.

"A _real_ drunken zombie?" Merida asked, not even attempting to hide the amusement and excitement in her voice. She had always wanted to be a part of an alien invasion but a _zombie apocalypse_ will do just fine. She reached behind her to grab an arrow and then used the bow to take aim and then fired! It hit the Zombie in its chest and it fell on its back; dead. _Tis is too easy…_

She jumped in excitement and rushed over to get more arrows. If there was a zombie here then she was willing to bet her monthly allowance, that there were zombies out there too. So she'll need as many arrows she can carry. The first place she thought she should go to was _'school'_. So that's where she went.

She kept a sharp lookout around her but so far there were no zombies anywhere. _Humph!_ Just her luck… The zombie apocalypse must already be over or something… _How had she missed that?_ Then again, you'll be surprised at how ignorant people are to their surroundings these days. She entered the school premises and walked through the doors in full _'swag mode'_.

She gasped at the sight she saw; not out of the excitement like she had been a few moments ago… but out of horror. The halls were painted red with blood. Students; the few who had bothered to attend the classes laid dead on the floor and against the lockers. It was a massacre. The school looked more like a slaughter house than a school. Different body parts lay here n' there; completely detached from their hosts.

This wasn't a game anymore. It was nothing like the movies. This wasn't cool or fun… It was terrible. She had to get back home; _fast!_

 _Shit just got real!_

Just as Merida moved to reopen the doors of the school she saw a zombie from the corner of her eye and ducked low as it swung itself at her. She raised her bow and hit the zombie hard on its head before bolting out of the school. _I think that was ta' principal._ She ran as fast as her legs could carry her. Once the coast was clear she breathed heavily and leaned against the wall of the grocery store parking lot for support.

 **Bark! Bark! Bark! Bark! Bark! Bark! Bark! Bark!**

Merida looked around for the dog that was making the barking noise. It sounded like it was close by but its barking seemed muffled at the same time. The animal sounded like it was trapped. She craned her neck above the wall to look for the dog. She scanned the lot until she found a car parked right outside the glass doors of the store. Inside the car she spotted what she was looking for. A black dog was clawing at the window and jumping around inside the car. Who would abandon a car with a dog inside it? Maybe its owner was inside the store.

She ran over to the parked car and peered into the backseat. The dog was barking at her, practically asking to let it out. She tried the door handle of the car but it was locked. "Hang on, I'll get ya out," she told it as if it could understand her.

Merida didn't want to use her only weapon to break the window. What if her bow broke in the process? So she looked around for anything she could use on the glass. There were a few potted plants next to the door, stones kept around them as decorative items. She grabbed a medium sized stone and came to the front passenger window. She didn't want to break the backseat window and risk injuring the dog so she proceeded to break the glass of the passenger side window.

It took a few tries and a lot of arm strength on Merida's part but she was finally able to break the glass window. She didn't even get a chance to unlock the door and open it before the black dog jumped out of the opening; knocking her on to the ground and ran into the store at top speed. She quickly got to her feet and rushed behind it. "Hey, wait!"

She entered the building and saw the dog disappear behind the isle on the farthest side of the store; still barking. She also heard a gunshot coming from somewhere inside. She decided to follow the dog because it looked like it knew where it was going. _A dog with a purpose_ , she ran after it but stopped when she reached the start of the isle. She saw a brunette boy being attacked by six Zombies. No time to think, she had to act fast. She reached for her arrows in the quiver that was still attached to her back. She aimed and fired rapid arrows with extreme accuracy at the zombies. She saw that the dog had stood protectively in front of the boy; who she assumed was its owner. She hit all six Zombies with a head shot and they all dropped one by one to the ground.

"Yah!" Merida yelled excitedly. She couldn't help it, this was the first time she's shot at something alive… or dead or living-dead _. Oh, you get the point_. The zombie at the grounds didn't count because it was at such short distance. "I got every one of 'em,"

She rolled her shoulders with pride and brought the bow back to her side. She saw the boy turn to see her. He was shaken up pretty badly by the looks of it. She stood proudly and smirked at him nevertheless. _Zombies-Zero, Merida-six!_

"Aye… Ta name's Merida Dunbroch." She introduced herself. "In othe' words yer savior… Please, hold yer applause, ther's nah need ta thank meh." She boasted and then much to her dismay; saw the brunette boy pass out and fall to the ground beside his frantic dog.

* * *

 _Unfortunately, there wont be any Shout Outs this time ;-; Which is kinda sad. But still... I've got a great plot for this story and I'm not gonna give up on it just because I'm not getting any responses for this story. But feedback does help you guys! It would be pretty cool if you could leave me a comment or anything._

 _Anyways, hope you enjoyed Merida's intro. Now that she's here... let's get this party started!_  
 _Until next time! ^_^_  
 _Byeeee!_


	10. Chapter 9

**A.N:** Yo guys! First off, thank you for letting me know that your still with me. It sorta inspired me to write and upload a brand new chapter today. (A week... not bad) I really hope you'll enjoy reading this chapter too. So without further ado... Let's go!

* * *

 **Chapter 9: So What You're Saying About These Zombies is…**

Jack still sat there gazing off into space until a half-sob, half-hiccup from Rapunzel brought him back to reality. His eyes moved slowly to his left foot- his sneaker was totally busted. The zombie had really messed it up. Jack breathed in and out. He _had_ to make sure… So he tucked the gun back in his waistband. He'll need it later if what he's thinking turns out to be true.

Jack slowly took off his sneaker and then his socks to reveal ... _Nothing_... No bite marks anywhere and no puncture wounds either. He hadn't been bitten after all. It took a moment for Jack to realize that. He blinked at his pale foot ... He could almost cry out in relief. Speaking of crying... He saw Rapunzel a few feet away, sitting on the messy floor sobbing quietly to herself. He smiled a genuine smile. He got up and limped to her. His left foot still hurt; just a little though. There was nothing to worry about. He crouched in front of the young blond girl and whispered. "Rapunzel?"

He got no reaction from except for another choked sob. "Hey, it's okay... Everything's gonna be alright."

"No it's not," she whispered brokenly. "You got bit."

"No I didn't..."

"Yes you did," she cried. "I saw it happen."

"But I'm okay... See," Jack sat back and showed her his left foot; wiggling his toes playfully and also giving her a toothy smile. "No bite marks."

Rapunzel blinked at his foot; not believing what she was seeing. In a flash of a moment she was hugging him so tight that he thought his ribs were going to break. She was crying again... But this time out of relief; out of happiness. _Jack was okay... He's gonna be okay... Everything will be alright..._ Just like he said it would.

"Uh... Punzie?" Jack chuckled. "As much as I would love to stay like this forever... We should get going, those Zombies could wake up any minute... Plus we need to go check on Hiccup. The guy seems like a real trouble-magnet, don't you think?"

Rapunzel released him quickly, sliding a bit away from him. A light blush on her cheeks, she brushed a stray strand of hair out of her red teary face and rubbed her arm in embarrassment and chuckled. "Yeah..." She didn't mean to jump at him like that. She then saw him remove his other shoe and sock and chuck them away.

His sneaker was messed up anyway; there was no way he was walking in it anymore. And there was no point in wearing only one. _Better to just ditch 'em both._ Besides, he kinda liked being bare foot.

Rapunzel giggled once more when she saw him wiggle his toes and Jack chuckled with her. He climbed to his feet and held out his hands to help her up. She smiled and took them. "C'mon... Let's get going," he said, still holding onto her hand.

 ** _Meanwhile_** **-**

Something wet and rubbery was playing on his face. _What is that?_ Hiccup scrunched his face and turned his head away to try to get whatever it was away from him. His hand brushed against something soft and furry. _Toothless?_ The dog began licking his hand instead. He groaned and giggled at the same time. "Toothless, buddy, stop."

"Aye! Yer finally awake," he heard someone say in a Scottish accent. "I thought ya were gonna nap forever."

Hiccup blinked his eyes open to see his dog panting and wagging its tail happily at him and he also saw a girl smirking down at him. He recognized her from before, when she saved him. He saw her bow lying next to her. He propped himself up using his elbows as support and rubbed his head. "Ugh…What happened?"

"Ya fainted," She replied still smirking with amusement. "Like a girl n' everything."

 _Oh yeah!_ Now he remembered. He was being attacked by a lot of Zombies. He thought he was going to die. He remembered Toothless standing in front of him; ready to defend his master. He remembered the girl; _Merida, was it?_ Save his life. He remembered seeing arrows plunge themselves into the zombies heads and then… _nothing._ But that didn't matter now…

 _I'm freaking alive! Alive to live another day!_

"Thank you," he said to her with deep gratitude.

Merida's smirk faltered for just a moment before it got even bigger. "Yer not gonna ask meh for an autograph now, are ya?"

He chuckled and was about to say something when he saw Jack and Rapunzel come out from the corner isle. He jerked in shock when Merida moved so fast, picking her bow up and arrow out and pointed it at his two new friends. He saw them jerk in shock as well.

"Whoa, whoa… "Jack said, pushing Rapunzel a little back and standing protectively in front of her and bringing his hands up in front of him; showing the new girl that they meant no harm. "Just relax, okay… Whatever this is, we can talk it out."

Merida brought her bow down but didn't completely relax. They didn't look like zombies… _yet_. She turned slightly to the brunette boy when she heard him talk to her.

"It's okay. They're my friends," He said then offered a hand to her. "My name's Hiccup by the way. That's Jack and Rapunzel."

"Ya don' say," she said taking the offered hand and shaking it though she kept her eyes glued to the white haired lad. If this guy was the infamous Jack Frost everyone talked about then she'll be damned. If what she heard about him were true then this guy was worse than the zombies. She'll have to be careful around him. She and Hiccup both stood up.

"Are you okay?" Rapunzel asked, stepping out from behind Jack, now that the tension had dissipated.

"Yeah… I'm okay. Merida here saved me," He said motioning to the fiery red head beside him. "What about you guys? I heard a gunshot."

"Oh, that was nothing," Jack waved him off dismissively and smirked like it was nothing. There was no need for Hiccup to know that he almost got turned into a Zombie and was going to off himself had it been true. He felt Rapunzel become a bit rigid beside him. "Just taking out the Zombie trash, the usual. No biggie…"

Hiccup nodded.

"So? What're ya lads doin here," Merida asked the three of them. They obviously knew each other. And judging by the way they talked, it looked like they were all good friends; _the way they cared about each other_. It made Merida think about her friends back in Scotland. _Oh man!_ She missed them so much; especially at a time like this.

"We came here to get something to eat and to take some with us," Hiccup answered her question.

"Where are ya goin'?" Merida asked out of curiosity.

"None of your business," Jack glared at her with hostility and then told the other two teens. "C'mon, let's get the food and get going. Those Zombies come alive after a while." _if they didn't already know._

Merida looked offended. She wanted to just clock him one for being so arrogant towards her. She almost did when she felt a hand on her shoulder; stopping her.

"Why don't you come with us?" Hiccup asked her. He didn't understand why he cared so much, maybe it was because she saved him but whatever the reason was, he didn't want her to be alone at a time like this. _It will be safer if she comes along; for both her and us._

"Wait what?" Jack glared at his friend first before glaring at Merida again. He didn't want her tagging along. She'll just be one more person that he'd be responsible for and he's having enough responsibilities to last a full lifetime as it is. Plus, everything about her screamed arrogance and Jack didn't like it one bit. "We don't have any room for you."

"Then make room," She said without skipping a beat. Jack was really starting to bug her. Initially, her initial plan had been to head back home and figure out a way to save the human race but now, she decided to accompany them just to piss Jack off. "Cuz' am coming wit ya whether ya want meh to or not."

Jack groaned loudly and resisted the urge to hit something. He was about to retort when he felt Rapunzel tug at his long sleeve. He turned to meet her worried expression. "Jack, we're wasting time… My parents…" She said leaving it hanging.

"Fine! Grab the goods," Jack said a little louder than he intended to. "She can come with us," _for now_.

"As if I need yer permission for tha'," Merida huffed, crossing her arms and turned her head away; chin held up high.

Jack rolled his eyes and bit back a _not-so-friendly-remark_ before walking off to where the other cart filled with sweet delicious candy was; Rapunzel following him closely behind. They rolled both shopping carts to the car before dumping everything into the back seat. They ditched a few food items to make space in the car and much to Jack's dismay too because majority of the food that they left behind were the sweet delightful treats. And he could have sworn he saw a crow eyeing him or something back at the store; as if it was silently laughing at his misfortune. It was odd that there was only one crow there… _don't they normally hang out in groups?_

Jack pouted childishly all through the entire drive not bothering to join in with the conversation the other three occupants of the car were having. When he did, he grumbled. They were sharing their zombie morning experiences with each other. Jack was also pissed that Merida had broken the passenger side window of his uncle's car. Now, the car was unsafe for all of them if _and when_ the dead-army decides to attack them. Nothing was going his way today. First, his uncle turns out to be a zombie and they had to kill him; _twice_ then he almost gets bit by a dead-chick and this red bushy haired girl decides to tag along with them after she freaking broke the car window and on top of everything else they had to leave a huge amount of yummy candy behind. _Seriously?_ _Why the candy?_ _Why couldn't they've just left her behind instead?_

"Yeah, I mean the zombies looked like they came alive when I used the flamethrower thing," Hiccup said, bringing Jack out of his personal ranting back to the conversation they had been having. The brunette boy had noticed how the frozen foods isle wasn't disturbed in the slightest bit. _It couldn't be a coincidence, could it?_

"Are ya sure it was because of ta fire?" Merida asked him. "It could be tha' they saw how tasty ya looked," she said wiggling her finger like a spider in front of his face to creep him out.

"Actually that's another thing…" Hiccup said trying to ignore the person sitting next to him. "I don't think these Zombies can actually see."

"What do you mean?" Rapunzel asked. She had nudged closer to Jack because the open window was freaking her out a little. What if a zombie jumped in out of nowhere and attacked her through the opening? Nope, she wasn't risking it.

"Well… I donno, it was like… the zombies _sensed_ me or something," Hiccup said, trying to sound more sensible about it. The zombie-girl in the store seemed to know he was there even before it even saw him.

Jack; who was listening in on their conversation, silently agreed. In the morning, his uncle seemed to sense him from behind the fridge door. Jack didn't even have to make a noise. His Zombie-uncle just knew that he had entered the kitchen.

"Yeah… even back at archery practice," Merida piped in. "That zombie-man knew I was ther' without lookin' at meh."

Rapunzel silently agreed too, recalling the incident at the drug store. Even if she hadn't made a sound she was sure those zombies would've sensed her.

"Okay, so what do we know about these things so far?" Jack asked, finally speaking up; his voice sounding much less irritated. The more they knew about those things the more prepared they would be.

"That they don't die," Rapunzel said first.

"They hate the cold and are attracted to fire," Hiccup said next.

"N' they can sense us like some weird spidey sense," Merida said last.

"Great… this just keeps getting better, doesn't it?" Jack said with a sigh as Rapunzel's house came into view.

* * *

 _This is how I imagined their meeting to go the first time I thought about writing this story. These conversations were always stuck in my head. And I liked the way it turned out. And I feel Jack and Merida are so similar in so many ways that they will constantly keep butting heads. XD And I also think Jack is a sugar junkie (Like me) So yeah. I hope you liked the update and it wasn't disappointing cause all the action starts from the next chapter that I will surely try and upload next Sunday._

 **SHOUT OUTS! (Glad to be able to do this again ^o^) **

**AvaniAcrux :** Thank you very much. I hope I'll be consistent with her accent though. And trust me, I know a thing or two about being lazy XD (::)(::)(::)  
 **Dreamer:** It's always a pleasure reading your reviews! And I haven't tried it before, this is my first time. I'm glad I'm able to pull it off without confusing you guys or any unnecessary extras. Thanks for the support. You have no idea how much that means to me! Like I said, no matter what happens, I will never give up on one of my stories. I might take a while to post but I will see it through till the end. You can count on me! (::)(::)(::)  
 **Guest1:** Hehe, thank you! I hope you enjoyed this chapter too! (::)  
 **Guest2:** Stay tuned for even more twists and turns to come. We're gonna go through a hurricane roller coaster so lets hold on tight and hope we survive the ride. (::)  
 **Lexa:** I will. I promise! ^_^ (::)

That's all for now!  
Take care guys!  
Until next time.  
Byeee!


	11. Chapter 10

**A.N:** Ugh, next Sunday turned into a lot of Sundays, didn't it? Gosh I apologize so much! Please forgive me! Life's been really hard and... I read a book recently where one of my favorite character's dies and I've not been taking the loss well at all... I feel like a chunk of my soul has been ripped away. If any of you have heard of the Imura brothers from Rot and Ruin then we can be official best friends for life! I don't think I've felt this heartbroken since Tadashi's death.

Speaking of which, I'll try and update my BH6 story as well. Just gimme some time to get it together guys. Again, I apologize for the really late update.  
Anyways, without too much fuss, lets get on with the show.

But one thing before that! **THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL THE FOLLOWS AND FAVORITES! I LOVE YOU GUYS!** And I hope this fandom doesn't crumble under my feet. I don't think my heart can take anymore.

 **ENJOY!**

* * *

 **Chapter 10: Who Let The Toothless Out!**

"Is this it?" Jack asked already parking the car in front of the huge mansion-like house. He tried hard not to gape at the building. But both Hiccup and Merida were failing terribly at that though. They had their mouths wide open; welcoming any insects that might have been flying nearby. All three sets of amazed eyes were locked on the building before them.

"Yeah, this is it…" Rapunzel told him, getting out of the car and closing the door. She was so worried about what she might find inside. Millions of thoughts ran through her mind.

"I'm surprised there isn't a butler out here to greet us, Punzie," Jack chuckled as they all walked up the long stretch of stone walkway to reach her porch. _It looked freaking huge._

"Oh there normally is, but mom n' dad sent them away on a Hawaiian vacation," Rapunzel said distractedly. Her mind was playing out different scenarios of what might happen once she entered the house… and none of them were good. _Stop it, Rapunzel! Think positive, you're an Optimist! I'm an optimist!_

"Your butlers and maids gets vacations…? To Hawaii ?" Hiccup deadpanned. He hadn't even been outside the _freaking state,_ let alone Hawaii… and here? A butler gets to go on a free cruise.

 **Bark! Bark!**

"You said it, bud."

"Where do I sign up for ta job?" Merida chuckled. She's heard great stuff about Hawaii. It was on her " _Things-To-Do-Before-I-Die,_ " list.

They had finally reached the house porch.

Rapunzel hesitantly stood in front of the huge wooden doors. Everyone could see that she was clearly nervous. She turned and looked at her new friends; they smiled at her encouragingly, which gave her a little more courage to go in. She pulled out the silver key from her pocket and unlocked the door before going in; knowing that her three friends were right behind her.

But Rapunzel suddenly halted and turned slightly to them; not making eye contact. "Do you guys mind waiting here?"

"…Rapunzel wait," Jack caught her wrist, preventing her from going any farther. He needed to warn her. He had to let her know that there is still the possibility of her mother and father being zombies… _They had to be realistic about this situation._ He couldn't let her just walk towards her own death. "Your parents... They cou-"

"Jack, please..." Rapunzel pleaded twisting her hand out of his. "Please don't say anything…"

 _She knows…_ Of course she does. She knows that her parents might be zombies, judging by the sudden fever and headaches. She wasn't stupid _but she was hopeful_. Maybe, _just maybe_ , her parents hadn't turned. Maybe it was all just a coincidence and they were perfectly fine.

He slowly let go of her hand. _So she knew all along..._. He understood that she needed to do this alone and he would respect that. "Just be careful," he told her with a neutral expression on his face.

She turned around to give him a trembling, watery smile. She took a deep breath and climbed up the stairs slowly without looking back.

Jack, Hiccup and Merida stayed back in the family room. Moments later, a tinkling noise grabbed their attention as a white and orange cat hurriedly came out of the hallway but stopped abruptly as it saw them. The cat hissed at them before running back the way it came.

Toothless, who had tilted his head innocently at the house cat, was now growling at the retreating feline. Before anyone could stop him, the dog chased after the cat with full speed, determined to catch it. Toothless disappeared into the hallway.

"Toothless! No!" Hiccup chastised and ran after his pet instinctively before either Jack or Merida could stop him. "Come back!"

"Hiccup! Get back here!" Jack barked. He took a few steps forward but then turned back to Merida and was about to say something to her but she waved him off dismissively.

"Yeah, yeah… I know wha' ta do…" She said and tipped her head towards the bow in her hand.

Jack gave her a curd nod and loped through the hallway muttering as he went 'Damn moron's gonna get himself killed,' _or hurt… or worse..._ He was weaponless too.

Merida was now standing alone in the room; impatiently tapping her foot on the nicely designed white carpet. She huffed and glanced upstairs then at the hallway and then back upstairs, that's when her ears caught the faint sound of scuffling. She was already racing up the stairs when she heard Rapunzel's yell.

"Mom! Please…! It's me!" Merida heard the golden haired girl's pleading voice coming from one of the rooms in the long corridor. _Ther' must beh a' least six doors here…_ So which one was Rapunzel in? Without any time to waste, Merida went for the door that was closest to her first, when she heard more yelling and more scuffling coming from the room adjacent to the one she just looked into.

Merida hurried to the door behind which she was sure the noises where coming from and tried to open the door but it wouldn't budge. She tried twisting the door knob but it didn't seem to be locked which meant only one thing. Something must be jammed against the door preventing her from opening it.

"Hold on in ther', Am coming!" She yelled as she flung her body against the door. She did that multiple times until her shoulders hurt but it was not in vain as she felt the door give way a little. Using the slight opening as leverage, Merida pushed at it forcefully causing the door to open even wider. She saw that a toppled over vanity was the object preventing her from opening the door. It looked like its legs were broken and so was the glass. She had only opened the door enough for one person to squeeze through it at a time; if they tried hard.

She could see the Zombie and Rapunzel perfectly from that angle though. The blonde girl stood trapped against the balcony window which was situated at the corner of the room and the Zombie-mom. To her left was a wall and to her right was other damaged furniture. Merida had her bow and arrow out in a heartbeat and was aiming it at the Rapunzel's former mother's head when she heard the girl cry out.

Rapunzel's wide teary eyes met brave ones and she cried out when she saw what the latter was about to do. "No! Wait! Don't hurt her!"

Merida blinked "What? Are ya kiddin meh?" she said in frustration. She understood Rapunzel's distress, she truly did. But the girl would be torn to bits if Merida didn't kill the monster right now. She saw Rapunzel's pleading sad puffy pink face and gave an audible frustrated sigh. She took aim again. "Am sorry, Goldie."

"No! Merida! **Stop!** " Rapunzel cried out and covered her ears. The Zombie was just about to lunge at her when the arrow that Merida fired struck the zombie's hand; piercing it and pinning it to the wall to its left. The zombie growled loudly and moaned; whether in pain or anger Merida wasn't sure. As the zombie-mom turned its milky white eyes at Merida, she shot two more arrows at it. This time, one arrow pierced her left hand also pinning it to the wall and the other arrow pierced what was supposed to be her right bicep.

The zombie was effectively pinned to the wall; unable to move freely. The zombie growled louder; with rage this time and began jerking forward and out of the arrows. Blood began oozing out of the wounds and the zombie's struggling only made it ooze out more. Merida moved her hand behind to grab another arrow when she realized that there was only one more left. She decided against using it. If Rapunzel hurried she wouldn't have to use up the last arrow. It might come in handy later on. So she impatiently yelled at the scared girl on the other side of the zoom; still closing her ears and shaking her head vigorously. "Rapunzel! Hurry! Befor' it gets free!"

Rapunzel still shook her head and Merida yelled even louder with anger. "I didn' kill it! It's alive! If ya don' do as I say, ya wont beh! C'mon! Hurry!"

Only after Rapunzel heard the red head say that she hadn't killed her mother did she realize the truth in the words. She saw that the zombie who used to be her mother was struggling against the arrows that had it pinned. She looked over to Merida who was stretching her hand out through the door desperately asking Rapunzel to take it.

Rapunzel glanced one more time at her former mother but instead of running to the door she ran to the dresser lying beside the bed. She heard Merida yell for her again. She knew Merida wouldn't be able to see her from this angle.

"Wha're ya doin? Get here now!" She heard the other girl yell more as she opened the drawers and rummaged through them till she found what she was looking for. Rapunzel pulled out a small bottle and an injection. She removed the needle cap and stuck the needle into the top of the bottle and suctioned the liquid out into the syringe. She then looked back at the zombie pinned to the wall. It was looking at her with such hunger and rage; like it hadn't eaten anything in years. Its mouth hung open; drool spilling out.

Rapunzel took a deep breath and walked cautiously to the zombie. Merida was cussing and yelling at her angrily now; whatever little patience she had was completely gone. "Are ya crazy! Do ya wanna get killed o' something!?"

Rapunzel ignored the ill-tempered teen and carefully stepped closer to the zombie. She proceeded to calmly inject the liquid into the crook of the zombie's pinned arm. She had to concentrate to find the vein. She then pushed the plunger slowly and saw the liquid drain into what Rapunzel hoped was a vein. She also hoped this would work and to her surprise and relief, it did. The zombie's struggles immediately lessened until it slumped against the wall.

Merida really didn't have to put up with this crap! She really didn't want to put up with a girl who actually wanted to kill herself _this way_. Rapunzel was freaking suicidal! And downright insane! Merida didn't know what to think when Rapunzel ran over to the other side of the room; out of her range of limited vision. She didn't know what the blonde girl was trying to do. She then saw her _walk_ over to the zombie! _Seriously? Wha' the hell is wrong wit' her?_ The zombie must have knocked her in the head and loosened up some screws she thought. That's when she noticed Rapunzel holding a… _syringe?_ What was she trying to do with that? She then saw the blonde girl inject some liquid into the Zombie's arm. Merida couldn't help but gawk at the scene playing out her front of her. The zombie was rendered dead in seconds. The only things holding it up were Merida's arrows.

Rapunzel stood there in front of the creature hanging off the wall; seemingly lost in space. _Is it dead?_ Merida wanted to ask her what she gave the zombie but didn't get a chance as they both heard a gunshot sound from downstairs. Their heads snapped up each other and Merida was the first to speak. "Ta boys must beh in trouble,"

"They aren't with you?" Rapunzel asked as she ran back to the door, took Merida's hand and climbed over the vanity and out the door.

"No, the dog saw the cat n' chased after it, n' ta lads chased after the dog," Merida would've laughed at the situation if they hadn't heard the gunshot a few seconds ago.

"Oh god! MY DAD!" Rapunzel would've burst out in tears all over again but Merida pulled at her hand.

"C'mon, let's go, Goldie," Merida said as she and Rapunzel ran down the stairs to where they assumed the gunshot came from.

Rapunzel did everything she could to not cry out; in sadness, or fear, or sorrow. They ran through the hallways with Rapunzel taking the lead. The sound seemed to have come from her dad's study. When both the girls reached the area they saw that one of the big wooden doors was afar and the other a little broken. Rapunzel's breathing quickened as she opened the door wider and gasped.

"Oh My God…! Jack!"

* * *

 _Alright, so that's it for this chapter, the tale will start to unravel itself and the action has already started and it'll only get better (or worse in this case) from here on out. So stay with me guys. I've already started working on the next chapter so I have high hopes of uploading next week. For sure this time. Anyways, I really hope you guys liked this update._

 **SHOUT OUTS TIME!**

 **KawaiiAriel:** I make no promises. This is a zombie fanfic after all. I recommend you to stick around and find out ^_^ (::)(::)(::)  
 **ivylene.h :** Well, if anyone can figure out what's happening, its him. Hiccup was always the brains of this operation. (::)(::)  
 **AvaniAcrux:** Oh, don't worry about it. I won't stop writing fanfics just cause I don't get any reviews (while they are good at motivating me) Hope you nailed the exams! Best of Luck for your results! (::)(::)  
 **Infrared-Ultraviolet :** Hi there! Yup, remember the prologue… it definitely is important. *wink wink* Thank you for the wonderful compliments about the OCs (which I hate creating tbh) I'm really glad you're enjoying it so far! WAIT! YOU'RE A JACKUNZEL SHIPPER?! OMG! I thought we were practically extinct! *Hugs you till you turn blue* I'm so happy *weeps* Also, I really really appreciate that you reviewed to individual chapters cause not a lot of people do that (Heck, even I don't do that) So yeah, thank you for taking the time to lemme know what you thought about it. Here are three cookies (::)(::)(::) ^_^ AND WAIT AGAIN! IS THAT A FREAKING FOX AS YOUR PRO PIC? OMMMGGGG! NOWAY! FOXES ARE MY MOST FAVORITE ANIMAL IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD! YOU ARE THE MOST AWESOMEST PERSON! KYAAAAAAA! *fangirls* T^T My love for foxes is too much! I cant... *collapses* You deserve a whole truck load of cookies!

Yup! So that's it for now. See you guys next week! ^_^  
Stay safe!  
Byeeee!


	12. Chapter 11

**A.N:** Hi guys! See, I'm updating it regularly now! I'm not rambling this time. So let's just get into it.

 **THANK YOU LOVELIES FOR THE FOLLOWS AND FAVORITES! LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH! You... YES YOU! You inspire me!**

So here you guys go! Enjoy!

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 **Chapter 11: What Would You Do If You Were Me?**

"Toothless!"

Hiccup ran after the black hound. He felt like he was chasing the two animals endlessly through the large house. The various hallways seemed like they went on forever _. How big_ _ **is**_ _Rapunzel's house…?_ It made him wonder what it would be like to live in a place like this. He didn't know, _Heck!_ He lived in only _one_ room for god's sake. And that one room was partially taken over by a messy twelve year old kid. But nonetheless it was home. Hiccup had spent majority of his life there. It was where he grew up. He briefly wondered if Miss Humphrey was alright. She had taken him in when he was only a hurt little kid. Even though Miss Humphrey was a shrewd and strict military style woman, she loved him and always wanted the best for him. He sure hoped she was okay.

The white and orange cat finally squeezed through the gap between the two wooden doors and hurried inside, followed by Toothless who opened one of the doors by default while going in. Hiccup opened the door wider and stopped dead in his tracks.

The cat was nowhere to be seen. Toothless stood with its hatchets raised and was growling threateningly at the creature wobbling behind the desk. He realized that they were in some sort of a modern looking study. Hiccup noticed that the zombie; whom he guessed was Rapunzel's father perked up as soon as he entered the room. He saw that the wary looking monster wore outdoor clothes. Either Rapunzel's dad was about to go outside when he turned or he just wore clothes like that indoors. _Who knows why rich people do the things they do just cause' they have money…_

The creature was trying to get to him, if he hurried he could get away from the zombie but he couldn't leave without his best friend. "Toothless! C'mon let's get outta here."

But the canine responded by running to the zombie and barking at it relentlessly. The zombie ignored the animal and went straight for the human instead. Toothless sunk its teeth into the man-eating creature's ankles without hesitation as it rushed to grab its master. The zombie fell but that didn't stop it from trying to get to Hiccup. It twisted its decaying body and thrashed blindly at the dog. Toothless yelped in pain as the zombie's hand connected with its neck and made Toothless lose its grip and crash into the foot of the desk nearby.

"Toothless! No!" Hiccup yelled in fear when he saw the Zombie hit his dog. The Zombie got to its feet faster than he expected it to and lunged at him once more. Hiccup stepped back involuntarily but was blocked by the other closed door. Something slammed into the right side of his torso and with a surprised yelp, Hiccup found himself airborne for a fraction of a second before he hit the floor with a loud thud, beside an unsteady pedestal on which a weird looking human statue stood. It looked like it was about to fall on him, the way it was wobbling. His confused mind worked hard to comprehend what the hell just happened.

Jack had side-tackled him out of the way and was on top of him now.

Hiccup saw the other boy lift himself off him and steady the wobbling pedestal, preventing the human statue from falling. The zombie on the other hand had dashed into the door so hard that it caused it to splinter. It recovered quickly and turned to both of them and moaned.

Jack stepped slowly away from Hiccup and moved to where Toothless was. The canine looked like it was dead but the rise and fall of its furry chest told Jack otherwise. Toothless was just unconscious, which means that it won't be able to defend itself and was unprotected. Jack kept an eye on the zombie that seemed to be following his movements from the doorway. The zombie suddenly roared with rage and charged at him. Jack was quick to jump out of the way and also move away from Toothless in the process. If he kept the zombie's attention on him then it wouldn't go after Hiccup or the pooch.

Jack went for the gun that was tucked in his waistband but he couldn't find it. "What the-"

He patted his back to find it gun-less. _Where the hell was his gun?_ His blue eyes searched the room and found it lying next to a shocked Hiccup. _Shit! It must've fallen out when I pushed him down_. His eyes flew to the zombie who was now advancing on him.

Hiccup had propped himself on his elbow and watched the scene unfold before him with wide fear filled eyes. He saw Jack head for his fallen companion near the desk. He assumed it was to make sure Toothless was okay. He felt touched-' _Jack wasn't such a cold-hearted guy after all'_ he thought ' _He wasn't as bad as the stories make him out to be'_ Oh yeah… He had figured out who Jack was a while ago. Jack Frost; aka The Coldest and most Dangerous guy in town.

Hiccup felt more dread grip his heart, Jack didn't make it to his dog—no, instead he dived out of the way of an enraged zombie and was now standing directly opposite to him across the room. The zombie lumbered in-between them; its back facing him. He saw Jack go for his gun but the latter's pale hand came out empty. He saw Jack's confused as well as desperate gaze search the room until it landed near his feet. He followed Jack's gaze and found the gun lying uselessly near his feet.

Hiccup was quick to pick it up and point it at the back of the zombie's head. He didn't waste time pulling the trigger but… _nothing happened_ … No bullet fired, there no recoil, no smoke… no nothing. _Was it broken?_ He wondered just as he heard Jack yell out.

"The safety's on!"

Hiccup fumbled with the switch before turning it off and re-pointing the gun at the zombie which was now unbelievably close to Jack. He fired a shot and felt the recoil but didn't see the bullet hit the zombie instead he saw it hit the framed picture hanging to the left of Jack. The glass shattered and fell to the floor. The pretty painting of white horses running on the beach now had a bullet hole in it.

Jack flinched when he felt the bullet whizz past his ear and hit the picture beside him. The bullet had flown so close to his ear that Jack was almost sure it would have cut off his freaking ear if it had flown even an inch closer to his head. His ears were still ringing. "Shit! Dude! Watch it!"

"S-sorry…! I'm sorry," Hiccup said shakily. His hands were shaking and he could do nothing to steady them. He had never held a gun before let alone shot anything with it. Using it was way harder than it looked, especially if your hands were shaking like a leaf. He re-aimed the gun and tried very hard to keep his hands as still as possible. He didn't want to accidentally shoot Jack. That would be deadly. He had been extremely lucky last time to not get hit.

The zombie had made a grab for Jack, but the boy cleverly caught its hands with his and held one foot at its chest; preventing it from getting any closer to him. His back was against a wall for support but he was quickly losing balance standing on only one leg. He felt the zombies snappy jaws get closer and his hands getting pushed back to him. _Is it just me…? Or are these things getting stronger?_

"Hurry man!" He called out to Hiccup just when he heard heavy footsteps onside the room and then a gasp and Rapunzel's voice. "Oh My God…! Jack!"

Rapunzel didn't know if she should feel horrified or relieved at the sight she saw before her. She was happy that her father didn't have a bullet in him yet; though he was far from being her father any more but still, she couldn't help but be relieved about it. But she was afraid for Jack at the same time. What was supposed to be her father was trying to kill and devour her friend. She saw Hiccup lying on the other side of the room gun aimed at her father. "Hiccup, please don't shoot!"

"But Ja-" Hiccup started but stopped anything that he was about to say when he saw Merida push past Rapunzel and dash toward him. He watched with mouth hung open as she picked up the ugly humanoid statue from the pedestal behind him like it weighed nothing and hurled it at the creature across the room.

The ceramic statue connected with the zombie's head which seemed to weaken it just enough for Jack to get the upper hand in their little tussle. Jack pulled his hands back from the zombie while simultaneously kicking it back a little before delivering a powerful right upper-cut to its jaw. Its head snapped back as it fell to the floor. Jack then stretched out his hand to Hiccup. "Throw me the gun!"

Hiccup did as Jack said and threw the gun to him. Jack caught it single-handedly with ease and aimed it at the dazed zombie's head.

"Nooo!" Rapunzel wailed, already running to where he was. "Jack please! He's my father!"

"Not anymore, Rapunzel." Jack reasoned with her, also willing himself to pull the freaking trigger. What should be so easy was taking Jack forever to do. Even though everything in him was screaming at him to put a bullet into its damaged brain he just couldn't bring himself to actually do it; at least not in front of Rapunzel. He knew it would kill her if he pulled the trigger now.

Rapunzel didn't let Jack make the choice as she crashed to her knees beside the fallen zombie and jabbed the needle into its neck. The already weakened and benumbed zombie's struggles slowed to nothing. Jack and Hiccup watched in bewilderment as the zombie slumped back flat on the floor.

"Wh-what did you give it?" Hiccup asked while getting to his feet.

"A sedative…" Rapunzel replied, lost in thought as her fingers ghosted over the quiet and still zombie's shoulder. _Oh God!_ _She couldn't do this_. She shot up to like a rocket and ran out of the room; teary eyed, flushed face buried in her hands.

Jack, Merida and Hiccup exchanged sad glances with each other before letting their eyes fall on the _unconscious_ zombie before them.

* * *

Jeez, talk about freaking trauma. Ugh, the thing's I'm going to put these guys through is going to kill you guys, I hope you survive it.

Anyhow, Its **SHOUT OUTSSSS TIME!**

 **AvaniAcrux:** Oh, hun, if you think this is bad... wait till you see what I have in store for him. (::)(::)(::)  
 **ivylene.h:** Yes, as you can see. I'm very devious with my cliffhangers. Hang in there for more. Lol, (::)(::)  
 **LoneWolfPunk101:** Well, it's a possibility. XD You can never know when zombies are involved. All of them will be tested on this one. I'm not sparing anyone. So who knows, your dream might just come true. (::)

So yay! that's it for this week. See you guys next week for more.  
Please review. It really helps and encourages me to write more. ^_^  
Bye bye guy!  
Take care.


	13. Chapter 12

**A:N:** Holy crap! Two updates in a row?! Did I just- YEAH! I'm on fire! Lol, seriously though, I'm just kicking life in its busy butt and not doing the important things that I'm suppose to be doing. Why you ask..? Cause I'm a barf brain. OTL

Also YAY! Thank you guys for all the follows and favorites! I really appreciate it, I feel I can never be clear enough on that. BUT I LOVE YOU! SO MUCH!

Ok, so here goes... Enjoy!

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 **Chapter 12: Would You Shoot Someone Even If You Knew They Were Human?**

Rapunzel sat outside her house on the steps of her porch. She had her arms wrapped around her knees. Her eyes were half glazed and staring off into nothingness. It seemed as though her eyes were vacant, her long black eye lashes stuck to each other, still wet. Her face was red and puffy from all the dried up tears on her cheeks. She didn't hear the soft footsteps behind her. She didn't feel the warm body when he came and sat beside her. She didn't want to feel anything. He spoke after a long pause. "You okay?"

She shook her head ever so slightly and rested her forehead on her knees and sighed softly.

"Yeah, stupid question. Never mind."

Rapunzel lifted her head and blinked up at the night sky. The dark sky glittered happily, oblivious to her pains. Even the full moon looked like it was smiling down at her sorrows. Tears streamed down her face again as she spoke in a hushed tone. "Me and my dad used to stargaze on nights like this."

Jack didn't say a word. He tilted his head back to gaze at the sky too, patiently waiting for her to continue.

"He said that the stars represent the people who you've loved and lost _," each one looking out for you in their own special way, keeping you safe from the evils that lurk in the shadows._ "I used to believe that they were alive, that they were really out there… But now, to me, they're nothing more than ghosts in the sky."

Jack waited a while before he spoke to her, in the same hushed tone as she did. "Hmm, back home, we were told a different tale."

She tore her glassy eyes away from the mocking sky and looked at him. He was still looking up the sky; lost in his own sea of painful memories. He seemed even more handsome under the moon light. His snowy hair practically sparkling at the white moon rays but Rapunzel could focus on nothing but his blue eyes. There seemed to be so many emotions in them and so much pain as well. A burden too much for a single person to carry on his shoulders alone.

"We were always told stories about the moon and how that, when you look up at a full moon, it reflects the faces of the people you miss. The one person you long for the most…"

He continued "… and how if the person you miss is looking up at the moon too, they'd be reunited one day."

Rapunzel brushed away her lonely tear and looked at the moon this time. "But the full moon's tomorrow,"

"I don't think it matters… A moon's a moon."

Rapunzel gazed up at the moon in silence. Both of them stayed that way for a while longer until she spoke up again.

"My parents ar- _were_ doctors…" She chocked, replaying the fun times she shared with her mother and father in her mind. "And I wanted to be one too… I wanted to be just like them. I spent so much of my free time watching them work. They taught me so many things. When I look at the moon… I do see their faces, but they'll never be able to come back to me."

"We'll figure out a way, Rapunzel," Jack assured her, placing her hand on her back. "We'll find a cure… Your parents are gonna be alright, I promise."

"Don't make promises you can't keep, Jack." She whispered brokenly.

"I'm keeping this one… you'll see." He said, tilting her chin up so he could see her eyes and she could see the seriousness in his. Before she could say anything though, the sound of someone clearing their throat made her go stiff with embarrassment. She pulled away from the snowy haired boy to look behind her.

"Ahem, am I interrupting something?" Merida asked with a smirk. Jack just stood and scoffed, helping Rapunzel up to her feet as well. She continued, "Ya okay?"

"Yeah… I think I am…" Rapunzel replied unsurely. She wanted to so badly believe in Jack's promise but she was just too afraid to. It wasn't that she thought Jack wouldn't try, she knew he would but she just doubted that it would do any good. _It was just too late for promises._

"I searched everywhere, I couldn' find yer cat," Merida said climbing down the stairs to the other two.

"Oh… It's okay. Pascal knows how to take care of himself. But thank you for trying." Rapunzel knew her pet well. He might be a house cat but he was still a cat. Cats were great in taking care of themselves. Pascal had proved that on a number of occasions.

"We should probably get going, Punz. Hiccup's waiting for us back in the car. And knowing the trouble-magnet that he is, he might be battling an alien-robot-zombie right about now."

Rapunzel giggled lightly but agreed. The four of them began walking towards the Chevy. Rapunzel tossed one last look over her shoulders at her house. Right after she gave her father the sedative and ran out of the room, Jack and Merida carried her dad to the basement where they were sure it was for his own safety as well as for their own. They didn't know how long the sedative would last after all; it was just too risky to just leave things as they were. Hiccup would've helped but he was busy carrying Toothless to the car to make sure the loyal canine was okay. She hadn't dared to go upstairs, she couldn't, so she had found the porch welcoming her to sit on it and drown her sorrows by herself until Jack came along and made her feel a little better. She wondered if she would ever be able to come back home again. The thought brought tears to her eyes again but she managed to keep them at bay. There was no use crying over it now. It's not going to solve anything. Crying wasn't going to make her get back her old life; it certainly wasn't going to bring back her parents. So she wouldn't cry. She would be strong and would face whatever the future had planned for her.

They reached the car to find Hiccup tucked away in the back seat; cradling a black lump of fur on his lap. He looked up at them and smiled.

"How is he?" Rapunzel asked out of concern as she got into the car with Jack and Merida.

"He's fine, just a little bump on the head, is all." Hiccup said, stroking his dog's neck just below the jaw. "Right, bud?"

The dog whimpered a little in response but then managed a bark.

"He's just in a little pain I guess… But nothing major to worry about." Hiccup said; his eyes softened in sympathy towards the animal.

"Maybe I have something that'll help," Rapunzel said pulling out the last syringe from her pocket.

"What is that exactly?" Hiccup asked with concern and doubt, not that he didn't trust Rapunzel but it wouldn't hurt to be careful; especially when it came to the ones you love.

"It's just Morphine. I read that it can be used on dogs too." Rapunzel said pulling the cap off of it.

"You sure?"

"Yeah… Provided you know the right dosage." She added. She knew a thing or two about the things they used and how they used it in the medical field. Looks like all those extra hours spent in the internet learning about drugs really paid off.

"And you know the right dosage?" Hiccup asked, re-adjusting his dog so that Toothless's head was up against his shoulder and it's rear was facing Rapunzel.

"Yeah, I do," She replied confidently. Toothless gave out another whimper when it felt the little prick of the needle. Hiccup whispered soothing words to his best and only pet. It seemed to work as the animal calmed down instantly and snuggled on its owner's lap before falling into a peaceful sleep.

"He's going to be just fine," Hiccup chuckled light heartedly, bringing his head up to meet Rapunzel's eyes. "Thanks."

"It was nothing,"

"And how're you doing?"

"I'll be fine too…" She said extending her hand to pet the dog before turning around to get into a more comfortable position in the front seat. It was going to be a long drive.

Once everyone had buckled their seatbelts, Jack had eased the vehicle out of the open drive way and was now speeding through town. They drove for hours at varying speeds. Rapunzel couldn't sleep because of the harsh winds constantly attacking her face due to the bashed open window. Even if the window was closed she doubted she could go to sleep tonight.

Merida on the other hand, was resting her head on the side of the window and was out like a light; even snoring slightly. _Serves her right for staying up all night the day before_. Her bow and satchel; that contained only one arrow now; sat by her side. She still gripped it tight even as she slept.

Hiccup was looking at the scenery that went by. It was the usual, nothing out of the ordinary… _Oh! Except for the fact that man-eating-immortal abominations lumbered here and there._ Though they didn't seem to care about them driving by, which was about the only good news he got all day. _Looks like they can't sense us from a certain distance_ and even if they did, they were just too slow to do anything about it. _I wonder where the other people are._ The ones who weren't turned into zombies yet... _Probably all dead._

Hiccup shivered at the thought…

He's mind was flying a mile a minute. He wondered if the whole town; _his_ home town was now nothing but a waste land filled with only death and soulless creatures. He wondered if, leading to some other place was a good idea right now. For all they knew the other towns and cities could be infected even worse than theirs was. The communications were all down, so how would they know? He wondered why no one came to help; surely someone from outside their town knew what was happening here. _How could they not know?_ Something this big no less.

 _Then again, it's only been less than a day…_

Hiccup didn't know and the unknowns had him feeling very uneasy. Then again, he's been having an uneasy feeling since the time he woke up in the morning. And it was definitely not the Burritos he had the night before either. This was something else entirely. His attention shifted back to the driver seat when he heard Jack curse.

"Dammit!"

"What's wrong?" Rapunzel asked.

"The car's outta fuel." Jack replied sullenly.

"Can't we make it a little farther? At least till we're out of town?" Hiccup piped in.

"We can't. There's still a long way to go and the car doesn't run on air, genius." Jack said gruffly. "We'll have to stop for gas soon."

"I don't see a gas station anywhere," Hiccup muttered, squinting at the front windshield.

"Yeah, I can see that Mr. Binoculars," Jack quipped sharply. "Why don't you state the obvious some more?"

Rapunzel winced at Jack's snarky attitude and switched her worried gaze between the two boys and then spoke up. "Maybe there's one up ahead."

"Maybe…" Jack whispered; his features softening a bit. He didn't mean to snap at Hiccup… It's just that he was getting a little frustrated and unfortunately, the scrawny kid was in the line of fire. Jack wasn't used to apologizing; to anyone for that matter. So he kept his mouth shut, in case he said anything else that he would silently regret.

Hiccup sighed and pushed himself closer to the door and rested his head on the window and silently watched the dark scenery as it went by. He understood the other boy's frustration. If the car broke down here; in the middle of nowhere then they were in some deep shit.

Luckily for them though, a gas station did come up soon.

 ** _The Burgess Petroleum_**

The car hadn't broken down but it was almost running on fumes. They parked the car at the station and got out only when Jack gave them the all clear. Merida had woken from her slumber by the sound of squeaky car doors opening and closing. She yawed and got down to stretch her legs along with the others. Long car journeys were just not her thing; she couldn't stand being cooped up for so long. She stretched her hands above her head and rolled her shoulders to get the kinks out of her neck. Sleeping against a window of a moving car was a big _no_ from now on.

"Wait… How the hell are we gonna pay for the gas?" Jack asked just realizing that none of them had any money on them. _Well, at least he didn't._

"You can use my credit card," Rapunzel said pulling out a shiny golden card from her back pocket and handing it to Jack. She received questioning looks from her friends so she shrugged and answered their unasked question. "I had the card when I went to the drug store in the morning. How else was I gonna pay for the medicine?"

"Nice…" Jack took the card from her and handed it to Hiccup; wordlessly hinting that he should pump the gas.

"Um… I'm going to go to the rest room," The blonde girl said shyly, walking past the pumps to the seemingly quiet convenient store. It was lit up bright but a look through the transparent glass window showed that no one was inside but that didn't mean the store was empty.

"I'll come wit ya," Merida said as she jogged a bit to catch up with the golden haired girl.

"Be careful," They heard one of the boys call out. Rapunzel turned back and gave them both an assuring smile and a little wave.

The girls were half way into the store when Merida poked the other teen with her elbow playfully. "I saw the way ya look at 'im," Merida chuckled. "Ye like 'im, don't ya?

"What?! No…! I-it's not like that…" Rapunzel tried convincing the red head but the amused look on Merida's face told her she wasn't buying a single minute of it. "He's… I'm… I'm just not his type." She said with a defeated slope of her shoulders.

"How do ya know?"

"I just do…" Rapunzel pressed on sadly and began twirling her hair between her fingers subconsciously. "He's Jack Frost… the coldest guy in town." _Why would someone like him like a girl like me?_

"I know that… but he doesn' seem like that when he's around ya…" Merida shrugged and walked deeper into the store leaving Rapunzel to ponder over that statement.

 ** _Meanwhile_** _\- Outside_

"Dude… You were totally checking her out, weren't you?" Jack smirked smugly, tipping his head at the fiery haired girl who just walked into the store.

"Wa-was not!" Hiccup sputtered as he pulled a black nozzle and punched in the numbers after he inserted the golden card.

"Then watch where you're pointing that thing, Loverboy." Jack chuckled, leaning against the side of the car, one foot on the ground and the other on the rubber wheel.

Hiccup turned completely red when he realized that he was pointing the nozzle at the door handle bulge instead of the fuel pump. He chuckled nervously in embarrassment and awkwardly opened the gas cap and put the nozzle into the hole before starting to pump the gas into the vehicle.

Jack shook his head and chuckled. He pulled a two chocolate bars from his hoodie pocket and offered one to his companion. Hiccup took the offering shyly; embarrassment still evident on his face. He was doing everything he could to resist laughing out loud at his friend… _Wait, Friend_? Did he really consider this guy as his friend now?

 _Don't get too attached, Jack_ Something reminded him in the back of his head.

"I'm sorry, Jack."

 _Whoa… that was random_. Jack turned his head to face the other teen. "What for?"

"I wish I could've been more useful…"

"What are you talking about?" Jack still had no clue as to what Hiccup was trying to say.

"Back at Rapunzel's house…"

 _Oh…_ Understanding finally dawned on Jack. Was that what was bothering the guy all this time? _Jeez… why didn't he just say something earlier instead of being all broody and sulky about it?_ He chuckled to lighten things up. "It's cool man. I didn't expect a first timer to shoot a bull's-eye anyway."

 _Jack would know all about that now, wouldn't he?_

"NO! DON'T!"

The boys heard one of the girls cry out and their heads snapped up at that. Both of them dashed into the store in light speed. Jack and Hiccup barged into the store to find Rapunzel and Merida standing in front of a man who was probably in his twenties, pointing a rifle at the two of them. They saw him jerk his head and his rifle at them when they entered and both stilled instantly.

"Wh-what the hell is going on here?" The man asked to no one in particular.

Jack and Hiccup had their hands up in surrender. They didn't answer the man just tried to move closer to Rapunzel and Merida; to protect them if need be. But the man's yelling made them stop where they were; _again._

"Don't come any closer!" He yelled, aiming the barrel between the boys so he could quickly shoot at the one who moved forward first.

"Okay, okay…! Just calm down, pal," Jack said slowly in a low steady voice. He could see the man's eyes were dilated, he was drenched in sweat, his body was visibly shaking; including the weapon he was holding. Jack could tell that this guy was a trigger-happy-moron just by looking at him. He learnt that little talent from his experiences in the Juvie so he had to play carefully here. "We're not here to hurt you."

"You-You're all one of _them_ ," The guy said, training his rifle back and forth between the four of them.

"One of _who_?" Hiccup asked, though he already knew the answer to that. The guy must be an employee of the store judging by the clothes he wore. _That would sorta explain the rifle too._ Most stores these days; especially the privately-run ones took precautionary measures like this- especially now with all those people going missing. But Hiccup wondered if this man even knew how to use the weapon.

"The _Zombies_ , man!" The man's panicked eyes jumped to his right at something they couldn't see before his eyes shifted back to them. "Ricky… M-my little brother… He-He's freaking dead! S-some guy came in here asking for help and passed out… looked pretty sick so Ricky and I decided to h-help him but… but the next thing I know he's attacking my brother! It killed him, man! It almost killed _me_! Oh-god! Oh-god!"

"Alright, listen to me," Jack said gruffly, his eyes met those of the girls and he subtly gestured for them to move back from the overly agitated man before continuing. "We are _not_ Zombies, understand? Do we _look_ sick to you?"

"You stay where you are or I'll shoot!"

"Whoa, whoa! … Okay, just Relax." Jack winced. _Crap! This isn't working._ They might need to find a different way to deal with this situation. He felt bad for the sorrowful man in front of him. He couldn't imagine the feeling of losing a sibling; especially a younger one… He came close to it once though.

But this was not the time or the situation to be feeling sympathetic towards a man who was trying to kill them; for assuming they were Zombies of all things. Jack reached for his gun as slowly as a snail but Hiccup; who noticed what Jack was trying to do, nudged him with his elbow subtly and shook his head. _There's an easier way to deal with this. Guns will only make it worse, Jack._

Jack begrudgingly agreed with Hiccup and left the gun where it was.

"Rick-He-he told me that the whole town was infected b-by those things b-but I didn't believe him… Oh-god! Why didn't I believe him a-and now _he's dead_! My little brother's dead! He's the only family I had left! Why?!"

The twenty-something man broke down and sank to his knees; devastated by his own sorrows. Hiccup took this opportunity to move a little forward. The girls were almost by their side; just a few more steps and he would reach them. He saw the man left his head to look at them; his eyes were burning with a sense of rage; _of revenge_. He raised his rifle so that it was pointing directly at Merida, who was comparatively the one closest to the grief-stricken man. "You're here to kill me too… But I won't let that happen… I won't let you kill me! I'll avenge my brother by killing every last one of you sick-freaks… starting with _you_ ,"

"No, no, no! Wait!" Hiccup said leaping in front of Merida with his hands in the air. "Listen, you can come with us. We'll hel-"

 **BANG!**

Rapunzel's scream tore through the silence that had followed the gun shot. Blood splattered on both hers and Merida's face.

Hiccup was propelled back onto Merida. His faded green shirt began to turn into the color red as he slumped lifelessly into her arms.

Reality crashed down on them; _hard._

"Nooooooo!"

* * *

I did warn you...

*Backs away very very slowly...*

Ummm... I... didn't mean to kill Hiccup... but... um, I can explain...

*runs away as fast as possible*

 **SHOUT OUTS!**

 **AvaniAcrux:** Yes, its absolutely illegal. BUT I LIVE LIFE ON THE EDGE! jk, gosh, trust me, it pained me to hurt Toothless but if this really was a real life story I'm sure even the animals wouldn't be spared. But yeah... something tells me your gonna be even more angry at me for this chapter. *braces myself* Ummm... Here are some cookies...? (::)(::)(::)  
 **Dreamer:** Haha, *nervously chuckles* Well... I killed one of them... O_O Um, Oops.. (Ahem, moving on...) Oh, I do love reading your theories, even for my other fic. It's always so much fun and I find it very interesting how you always manage to find so many clues and hints. Sharp! *wink wink* And as for your assumption, You bet I have a plan and its one that I guarantee will shock and surprise you. (hopefully). AND HECK YES I'M GONNA SCOLD YOU! I told you I love reading your theories and ramblings! ^o^ And I can't wait to see what you come up with as the story goes forward. (::)(::)  
 **LoneWolfPunk101:** OMGosh! Thank you! (Although, I feel you'll take away the cookie you gave me after reading this chapter... uh, Go Cookie Power? Please dont take away my cookie.) As for your question, I try to update every Saturday or Sunday. (keyword: TRY) Lol, here's another cookie so you'll forgive me? (::)  
 **KawaiiAriel:** YES! ME TOO! I included some Jackunzel as well as some Mericup in this chapter... Although the second ship might as well sink now since I basically killed Hiccup. (::)  
 **SlashGuitarist 2.0:** Oh, there's plenty of that coming. MORE GORE! SO MUCH MORE! and lol, thank you! ^_^

Alrighty... Um, stick around, this isnt over yet. Not by a long shot. I'll see you next week!  
Take care, guys!  
Bye!


	14. Chapter 13

**A.N:** Okay guys! Here's the next chapter of JADIZ. Lol, that sounds like a AI XD.

 **THANK YOU FOR THE FAVORITES AND FOLLOWS! I LOVE YOU!**

Enjoy!

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 **Chapter 13: Who Needs a Medical Degree When You've Got a Girl With Talent?**

"Son of a-" Jack cursed out loud. Everything had come to a standstill after the gun shot but that didn't last for long. Jack was in front of his friends in a fraction of a second and had his own colt out; pointing it at the center of the man's forehead. He glared at the man threateningly. He shouldn't have waited for this long. He should have had his gun out the minute he stepped into the store. Maybe then, Hiccup would still be- _No! He's alive_. He's got to be. Jack refused to accept anything else.

Merida had placed Hiccup flat on his back and was kneeling next to his lolling head trying to wake him while Rapunzel knelt beside him; trying to access his injuries. Jack had to give them the credit of not completely freaking out. Or maybe they were, maybe they were just good at hiding it. _Like he was._

The man for the most part was still aiming the barrel straight ahead; this time pointing it at a defiant snowy haired boy. Jack wanted nothing more than to take the rifle and jam it straight down the man's throat for what he did to the guy who was starting to become one of his best friends but he refrained himself from doing so; _just barely._ "Get the hell up!" He commanded.

The man obeyed. _Funny_ , he seemed just as shocked as the rest of them were. This must have been the first time that he's shot somebody. The man stared wide eyed at cold icy blue ones. His rifle hung limply by his side, he brought his trembling free hand up to cover his open mouth. He then tried to quickly compose himself. "Y-you're all zombies… You deserve to d-die for what my brother went through."

The man was trying desperately to justify his horrendous actions and that only made Jack even more furious. "You better get the hell outta here before I do something that _you'll_ regret."

The man was hesitant, sparing a glance at the kid he had just shot, who lay sprawled on his back with the girls fussing over him before he turned and scurried away through the back door. The cold icy look in Jack's eyes had told him that the kid wasn't kidding and wasn't afraid to kill him either. It reminded him of the _grim reaper_ himself. _A kid who wasn't afraid to kill or to die._ It sent shivers down his spine. This kid must be the infamous _Jack Frost_. No way did he want to cross paths with this kid. He was bad news; _I'm better off out there than in there with these freaks._ The man thought as he ran away from the store without a backward glance.

Jack could tell Hiccup was still down and out of it behind him, and he was desperate to get to the scrawny kid and help him through it but he didn't dare take his focus off the twenty-something man; not until he was sure that he wasn't a threat anymore.

But just as the man left Jack noticed teeth marks on his ankle. But he couldn't bring himself to feel sorry for the guy, _not even a little…_

Once the man disappeared behind the store's back door, Jack whirled around to check on his friend. He tucked his gun in the back of his jeans and crouched down next to Hiccup on the opposite side of Rapunzel next to Merida.

There was blood everywhere; too much of it, on the floor, on Hiccup's shirt, on Rapunzel's and Merida's hands. There was a bitter coppery tang of it in the air around them reminding Jack about the nightmarish night all those years ago. He forcibly pushed those memories away and concentrated on the situation at hand. "Shit!" He cursed.

"How is he?" Jack asked; waiting for either one of the girls to answer him. Hiccup's head lolled sideways on the tiled floor lazily; eyes half-mast as he stared at the perfect white ceiling above him. His breathing was shallow and Jack could barely see the rise and fall of his friend's chest under the shirt that was now stuck to him like some sort of a second skin.

"He was sh-shot near the shoulder… from what I-I could tell," Rapunzel answered shakily. Her fingers were firmly pressed against the barely conscious boy's throat. His pulse was fluttering rapidly against her finger tips which did nothing to alleviate her fear, it only increased it. "But I think he-he's going into shock from t-the blood loss."

"Gawd! Do something ta save him," Merida begged. She wasn't a very emotional person to begin with but she couldn't watch this lad die because of her. It should have been her. That man was aiming for her, not Hiccup. If only he hasn't jumped in front of her to protect her like some stupid invincible hero... He wouldn't be lying on the floor half-dead right now. She didn't ask for him to save her… _So why?_ Why would he risk his life like that for a stranger? It didn't make any sense. _The Stupid lad!_

"Rapunzel," Jack called her. She raised her head to meet his calm and composed eyes with her fearful eyes. "You're the only one of us who has any experience in the medical field…"

"J-Jack…I-I can't," Rapunzel said shaking her head knowing what he was asking her to do.

"Yes, you can…" _You have to_ Jack said, reaching out to cup her face in his hands so that he would have her undivided attention. "I believe in you…"

"B-but I've never done anything like this… What if… What If I mess up and…?" _kill Hiccup?_ Rapunzel closed her eyes and concentrated on her own breathing. How was she going to perform a freaking surgery _in the middle of a freaking convenience store?_ That was what they were basically asking her to do, right? Sure, her parents had taught her everything she needed to know but reading about it or playing online simulations were very different from actually doing it in real life.

"You won't…" Jack assured her. "You can do this, Punzie." _You're the only one who can and you're Hiccup's only hope._ But he didn't see the need to say that out loud and add even more pressure on her. "Merida and I are here; just tell us what you need." He said with a soft smile as he let go of her red face.

Jack and Merida looked at Rapunzel, waiting for her orders. She took a deep breath before speaking up. This time her voice was clear and her eyes were set with determination. Her parents had taught her a simple way to remember how to treat injuries like these. A, B, C, D and E; Airway, Breathing, Circulation, Deformity and Exposure. _You can do this Rapunzel! You've seen mother and father do it all the_ time. "Tilt his head to the side to clear his airway,"

She didn't wait for Merida to comply knowing that she would, Rapunzel checked out everything else. It seemed fine for now so she barked out the next order. "We need something to stop the bleeding and something to stitch the wound up with." Her words seemed to have more confidence in them now.

"Got it," Merida and Jack said in union as both of them shot to their feet and ran in different directions to get the golden haired girl what she asked for.

Merida took charge of getting something to staunch the blood flow with. She ran to the other parts of the store. Surely places like this had towels or some sort of cloths, right? As she searched for what she was looking for she came across the gory scene that had gotten the panicked employee so shocked. A mangled kid, definitely much younger than her, lay trapped under a fallen soft drink dispenser with a zombie trapped there with him. She was sure that it was shot somewhere on its disfigured face but she didn't go near it to find out. The different colored liquids mixed with blood and ooze was all around them. It was a disgusting sight to say the least. She tried not to focus on that as she continued her search for the towels.

Meanwhile, Jack had dashed out to where his car was parked. The automated pump had finished filling the vehicle long ago. He didn't bother putting it back into the pump. He just pulled the nozzle out and threw it on the ground. Not like there was anyone around to tell him otherwise plus he didn't have the time or patience to do that anyway. He put the fuel cap on and shut the fuel tank opening as he went to the driver's side of the car and pulled the lever that opened the boot. He then peered into the back seat for a split second as he went to the back of the car. Toothless was still sound asleep; curled up into a furry ball; oblivious to his master's distress. _Don't worry Fido… He's not going anywhere. I'll make sure of it._ He made a silent promise to the slumbering pooch as he opened the boot and dug inside till he found what he was looking for. David always kept a first aid kit handy just in case Jack got in trouble and needed some medical attention and believe it or not, that happened more often than not. Jack just hoped it was well stocked. He then pressed down on the lid and made sure it was closed before he rushed back inside the store.

Rapunzel waited the return of her trusted companions. _But until then…_

One of the other things she read was to keep the victim awake. She brushed the sweaty strands of chocolate brown hair from Hiccup's scrunched up forehead and whispered to him. "Hey, I need you to open your eyes, Hiccup."

If Hiccup heard her, he made no acknowledgement of it. She didn't want to shake him awake. One of the key things to remember was not to move the victim so she patted his cheek gently. He moaned but still didn't wake so she patted again but a little roughly this time. He grunted weakly and moaned again before opening his eyes to mere slits and for now that was enough. "Hey, sleepy head… How're you feeling?" She had to keep him occupied to prevent him from falling asleep again.

"Like I've been shot…" He slurred as he tried to move.

"Don't move, Hiccup." Rapunzel ordered. "Listen, I need you to stay awake for me. Can you do that?"

"Too… tir'd… h'rts…" He gasped as a new agony washed over him.

"I know… I know, but you'll be alright. We'll take care of you," Rapunzel thought of all the time Jack told her that and how it made her feel better. She hoped it would make her new friend feel better too. "You'll be okay, I promise."

"Here, I got some towels," Merida said, crashing to her knees beside Hiccup. She noticed that he was awake and thanked the heavens for that. She felt a strange feeling in her heart when the boy turned his head to look at her. She smiled bravely for him; even though it was breaking her heart to see him in this condition. _Why am I feeling like tis?_ She was interrupted from her questions when she heard Rapunzel bark out the next order.

"Good, now we should try and apply pressure on the wound," Rapunzel said taking one of the cloths and pressing it on his shoulder receiving another pained whimper from the injured boy.

"I found the first aid kit," Jack said, running in a minute later and placing it next to Rapunzel and also crouched next to her. "I hope it has everything you need,"

Rapunzel opened the box and dug inside. Making sure that there was everything they'd need. She ran through the procedure in her mind; mentally analyzing the different items in the box. _It would have to do_. They had no choice; 911 was completely out of the question, the phones were still down and the hospital staff were probably dead or turned into zombies too by now.

Rapunzel, Jack and Merida were doing everything they could to help Hiccup.

"We've gotcha buddy," Jack was talking to Hiccup to keep him awake and was also trying to distract him from the pain. "We'll get you patched up in no time."

"Arg… Hurts, s-stop…" Hiccup whined and whimpered pathetically. Trying to move his hand up but Merida forcefully pinned his arms to the floor allowing him minimal movement.

"Sorry lad. Can't hav' ya givin' our doctor a hard time." Merida winced when she heard another pain filled gasp from the brunette boy.

Rapunzel cleaned the wound carefully, disinfecting them and ignored the painfully gasps and groans that escaped from the brunette boy's lips when the burning liquid was poured into the raw wound.

"I don't have any sedatives," She said slowly with regret about she was about to do next. "Hiccup, there's no exit wound… that means the bullet's still in there,"

Hiccup bit his lip, almost causing a split but nodded mutely. He understood what she was about to do and he knew it was going to hurt like hell.

Rapunzel used the tweezers to probe n prod into the wound but she was trying to do it as gently and as carefully as possible. Infection was another major issue here so she had to get the bullet out fast. She finally found the bullet and began carefully pulling it out. Hiccup this time didn't stop the screams that tore through his lungs and out his throat. He began trashing from the pain and Jack and Merida tried with all their strength to stop him from causing more harm to himself. _Boy, for a scrawny looking kid. He sure had a lot in him._

Rapunzel yelled in triumph when the bullet was compete out and breathed a sigh of relief that it was whole. It hadn't broken into fragments inside Hiccup's shoulder and it didn't look like it had nicked any important veins or arteries, so that's good news. That would've been very bad. She didn't have time to thank his lucky stars as he was not out of the woods yet.

She quickly stitched the wound closed, carefully, with surprisingly steady hands and bandaged it up; keeping in mind not to cost him more blood loss than he's already lost.

"Jack, do you still have that Tylenol?" Rapunzel asked him.

"Uh, yeah. I do," Jack said putting his hand into his hoodie pocket and pulling out the small yellow plastic bottle.

"I think two should be enough," Rapunzel instructed. She would've done it herself but her hands were soaked with so much blood. Gosh, she couldn't believe what she had just done. "That's all we can give him for now."

"I'll get ta water," Merida said, leaving and retuned quickly with a bottle of water and they made Hiccup swallow two pills by helping him tip his head forward to make swallowing the water and pills easier. Exhaustion had caught up with Hiccup and he had passed out again but this time, it was okay. He needed the rest.

Rapunzel finally sat back and brushed her blood soaked arm on her forehand. "We did it…" She breathed.

"You did it…" Jack smiled warmly at her. "Good job."

Rapunzel blushed profusely and said with a shy smile. "I couldn't have done it without the both of you,"

"I hate ta interrupt this girly moment we're havin' but we can't stay here… I saw a zombie when I went ta get some towels," Merida said turning serious all of a sudden. She glanced behind her involuntarily.

"Then we better get moving," Jack said sharply.

"Wait! Hiccup shouldn't be moved in his condition… especially not on some bumpy car ride,"

"Sorry, Punzie." Jack apologized. He didn't want to cause his friend any discomfort either but they couldn't stay in such a dangerous place. "But we have no choice."

The snowy haired boy nodded and looped supporting arms under Hiccup's armpits careful not to jostle his shoulder, while Merida grabbed his legs and together they managed to hoist his thin frame up, and get him away from the scene. They slowly and delicately carried him to the car. The brunette boy showed no signs of discomfort; which Jack was grateful for but it also worried him. On the way though, they heard scratching and moaning noises and then the sound of metal hitting tiles. It gave them all the more reason to get out of that place and fast.

Rapunzel opened the door for them and they placed Hiccup onto the back seat so that his sleeping head was resting on Merida's lap, who voted to sit in the back seat with him.

The golden haired girl sat up front with Toothless cradled on her lap and Jack whose hand flexed over the gear shift, tanking it into drive. They had to find a place to rest up for the night.

All of them needed a break; _especially Hiccup.  
_

* * *

Hahaha, you didn;t actually think I would kill off one of the big four this soon, did you?

You did? Oh... my bad. Lol. But yeah, I AM EVIL AND I SHALL CONTINUE TO PLAY WITH YOUR EMOTIONS CAUSE I AM SATAN! XD

 **SHOUT OUTS!**

 **LoneWolfPunk101:** YESSS! Thank you! I think I need some cookies in my life right now. And why hello there Jeff the Cookie. I hope you live a long non-munchable life. Anyways, thank you for waiting. I will also try not to make you wait for long. TRY! AND UGH! IKR! I found like 1 zombie ROTG fic (It's what inspired me to write this one) I donno why I love zombie fics so much. Speaking of which, have you read Rot and Ruin? (::)(::)(::)  
 **AvaniAcrux:** That's probably cause those are the main ingredients to my cookies. Here's some more. (::)(::) And seeeeee, I didn't kill him after all. So its a good. *pats your head awkwardly*  
 **Guest1:** Whoa, whoa, whoa... Calm down. I haven't killed him (yet) There will be more Mericcup, don't worry. Lol, everything is gonna be okay... The big four will be fine. For sure. (#LIES) (::)  
 **KawaiiAriel:** Well... a zombie fic where everyone's bound to die in the end isn't exactly a good place to come to if your looking for rainbows and sunshine. But I hope this chapter made up for it...? Have I managed to reunite you with your soul? (::)  
 **Dreamer: ** Oh please, by all means, UNLEASH THE MONSTROSITY FROM WITHIN! EMBRACE IT DREAMER! Lol, Oh and my hero! *does a cutesy pose* Wait, I thought it was the tides and the winds. Also, you were on fire in that last review man. (Oops. guess I couldn't resist myself either. Lol) I couldn't help myself I was smiling so much my face hurt. Your first theory was pretty spot on. Congratulations. Your second theory kinda scared me a little. (BUT I LOVED IT! OMG! The level of sadistic-ness blew me away. Pun totally intended. I almost wish I'd planned the story that way but alas, I have other things planned for our beloved characters and Hiccup plays a main role in it.) And thank you so much for the wonderful compliments. And lol, oh no, it didnt sound creepy at all *takes a few steps back* XD I love that I'm able to give you guys the freedom to do so. I'm glad your enjoying it. And OH YES! I'll await the day you finally create an account. I didn't even know reviews could get spammed tbh. Dont' worry about your ramblings, I enjoy them as much as you do with my updates if not more. It always gives me a... 'Ooooo, I never thought about that way' feel. And that's always very very important to me. I want to know what goes on in your minds too. (That was intended to sound creepy *wink wink*) So yeah, hope you liked this one. See you next time! (::)(::)(::)  
 **RedLegoManiac:** And you know it! XD But hey, at least I don't do it every chapter, right? I think I deserve some credit for that, dont you think? ^o^ (::)  
 **Guest2:** Oh, the irony of what I have planned is gonna mess with your head so bad, my friend. Just stick with me and find out. (::)

So that's it for this week. See you guys next week!  
Take care and stay safe (And prepared. You donno when the zombies will attack... these things happen over night)  
 **Please review to help fuel my sadistically twisted soul.**  
Byeeeeeeee!


	15. Chapter 14

**A.N:** Alrighty, you guys! Buckle up cause the action is about to start back up now. XD

Also, consider this as a birthday treat from my side. I actually spent a lot of time and effort into updating my two fanfics for this very day.

 **A HUGE THANK YOU TO ALL THOSE WHO FAVORITE AND FOLLOW! YOU ALWAYS AND WILL FOREVER ROCK! LOVE YOU!**

Here is my bday cake for you all!

 **[# ~ ~ ^ ^ ~ ~ #]**

Hope you Enjoy!

* * *

 **Chapter 14: Is an Enemy of an Enemy Really A Friend?**

They didn't have to drive too far before a diner came into view. By the looks of it, it was a medium sized one; wasn't as small as a trailer and wasn't as big as the ones back in town. It was only a few miles away from the gas station. Hiccup was still out of it for most parts of the ride. He woke up occasionally; muttered incoherent words and was out like a light again. Toothless had taken its place beside him a while back; little sniffs and whines and licks. It was adorable and touching to say the least. Those subtle actions showed so much love and adoration from the furry creature towards his master and best friend. It was as if Toothless could sense Hiccup's pain and was trying to make him feel better; as if it was apologizing for not being there when he got hurt.

Jack's blue eyes shifted from the rear-view mirror back to the windshield and he grinned. "Looks like you were right, Red Bush. There _is_ a diner up ahead."

"I told ya," Merida smirked with pride. When her brothers occasionally took her out of town for the weekends they normally took this route and they once stopped at a diner and had the tastiest apple pie she had ever eaten. That place is hard to forget. She was sure it was somewhere along the long stretch of the highway but didn't know how far it was. Well, they don't have to worry about that now. The point is that she was right all along. "Ya should listen ta meh more often, Snowcone."

"What? And risk our lives? No thanks, Short-fuse."

"How dare ya, ye blasted Ice-pop! Am ta one who told ya ta directions to the place,"

"No one likes a back seat drive, short-bus."

"Oh yeah? I'll show ya a back seat driver!"

"Ow! Merida, stop that! You want us to crash or something!"

"Crash into wha'? There's nothin' around us, Snowcone."

"Yeah… It's the perfect place to abandon a certain someone-"

Rapunzel rolled her eyes playfully and giggled, listening to her friends' bicker. Jack and Merida's banter was incredibly annoying _but_ it can be entertaining at the same time. And don't even get them started on the name calling. Merida called Jack ' _Snowcone'_ because she thought that his head looked like a scoop of vanilla ice-cream and Jack called her ' _Red Bush'_ for, _well_ , obvious reasons and some of the other names made absolutely no sense at all but that didn't mean it wasn't funny. It was all good natured.

The car neared the diner.

As they got closer to the building, they realized two things. _One_ ; the place was boarded up like a freaking fortress and _two_ ; zombies were surrounding the diner, lolling their heads lazily to the desert winds. They were standing in place, not even attempting to break into the diner.

Maybe they didn't have to break into the diner, maybe no one was in the diner; no one alive that is. The zombies must've killed them all.

Jack narrowed his eyes with valor and grit his teeth. "Hang on…" was all the warning his friends got from him as he jammed his foot down hard on the accelerator, just barely giving them enough time to get brace themselves. The car roared to life and raced towards the diner in top speed. Rapunzel was forced back into her seat from the sudden acceleration. Merida held on even tighter to Hiccup; making sure the ride doesn't hurt him more. She hoped whatever happens next wouldn't jostle him too much. There was only so much pain the poor lad could take.

There were about three to four zombies standing around the place; if there were more… then they were out of sight; probably somewhere around the other sides of the diner. But right now, they'd focus on the few zombies they could see.

Jack was sure he could run them all over without having to slow down the Chevy if he drove properly and timed it right. They neared the diner in record time; the zombies didn't even realize that they were one step away from being road-kill. In fact, they didn't notice the car charging towards them at all till it was too late.

The occupants in the car felt the sickening crunch of bones being crushed beneath the heavy wheels of the Chevy. They nearly _felt_ the unmistakable impact of flesh and body hitting the bumper of the bulky vehicle each time it made contact with the man-eating-monsters before they were pulled underneath the car. One by one, Jack dauntlessly drove over each zombie, killing them all instantaneously. Once they ran over all four zombies, Jack stopped the car and three sets of eyes glanced behind them to see the extent of damage that the car had done to the dead-creatures. Three zombies laid there on the semi concrete ground; unmoving, blood oozing all around them; all _dead_ … _At least for now_. They were as flat as pancakes.

 _Except one…_

"What the hell?" Jack exclaimed aloud. Everyone was pretty much thinking the same thing.

One of the zombies; even though its body was completely broken and crushed, began to stand up. It looked as though the zombie was attached to strings and a puppeteer was making it move and come alive again. The zombie that was astonishingly somehow still alive, was the most disgusting one of them all. It no longer had any flesh. It truly looked like a decayed corpse that had been buried under the ground for _years_. The zombie had no skin whatsoever; just insignificant patches of it here and there. Instead of milky white eyes, like the other zombies had, it didn't have any eyes at all; just empty eye sockets of hollow voids. It had no lips either, leaving its black gums and rotten teeth completely exposed. They could actually see some of its unhidden bones too; some whole but others broken with dried up bone marrow still stuck to it.

 _Yup… definitely the most disgusting one of them all._

But it also looked like the weakest compared to the other zombies. The lack of any muscles was obviously the reason for that. But how it was still alive let alone moving still flabbergasted them. But it was only one thin-as-a-stick zombie, if running over it didn't kill it maybe bullets will. If they were careful and fast enough they could make it to the diner without any unwanted incidents.

"Okay, Hiccup's with me, Rapunzel you too. Merida, you're up front," Jack barked out commands, already undoing his seatbelt and getting out of the car and opening the back door so he could help Hiccup out. He saw Rapunzel do the same. Jack began tugging gently at Hiccup when Merida protested. "Maybe I should help ya carry Hic,"

"No. We'll be faster if I carry him and I need someone with a sharp shot protecting us." Jack said to her firmly. Merida backed off instantly but reluctantly and let him and Rapunzel take care of Hiccup while she bent down to the floorboard to get her bow. She understood why Jack made the decision he made. Even though she was stronger than Rapunzel and could take on Hiccup's weight better, Jack needed someone to protect them all. Rapunzel was weaponless at the moment so it wouldn't make sense to put her in charge of protected them from the zombie, if need be.

Even though she didn't want to admit it, she was sure Jack could lug Hiccup into the diner faster than she could. So this was definitely the only logical and most efficient way to handle this situation. Jack seemed like a natural born leader _…_ She had to admit, she was slightly jealous. She also couldn't help but wonder what kind of a life the infamous Jack Frost had led.

Merida stood bravely in front of her friends ready to defend them. She had only one arrow left, so she would have to be careful not to waste it.

Hiccup groaned when he felt hands on him, shifting him from the seat which, by default, resulted in shifting his shoulder. He vaguely heard Merida mutter a faint apology then he felt his arm, the one attached to his non-damaged shoulder, being raised and draped over someone's cold neck; probably Jack's; _Jeez, he really was the coldest kid in town; literally._ Only Jack's skin could be so cool in the middle of a desert highway. He also felt soft gentle hands supporting his back and chest, that's definitely Rapunzel. He felt something soft and plushy tickling his ankle too. A smile crept into his face; _Toothless_. His vision was blurry and he was able to pick up only bits and piecing of his friends' conversation but he hazily understood them. Something about him being with Jack and Merida… protecting them? _Protecting_ _them from what?_ Where the heck was he anyway? _Oh yeah, desert highway… but why?_ His mind couldn't activate enough brain cells to formulate an proper answer. _Just go with the flow_ he told himself. Besides Rapunzel must've given him the good stuff, well, either that or his body was shutting down; _that doesn't sound good._

The drug hadn't worn off yet; which he was thankful for. The pain in his shoulder was throbbing but it was bearable at least. It took every ounce of energy left in him to just stand. Even in that haze he didn't want to be a burden to his friends; _his_ real friends… Friends like that are hard to come by and he didn't want them to hate him for being such a liability. So he tried to do whatever they wanted him to do without too much fuss. _God, his shoulder was on fire!_

Simultaneously, Jack and Rapunzel helped Hiccup out of the car, Toothless hopped out and stood by Hiccup's feet barring its teeth at the remaining threat, Merida took her stance in front of the group. The door of the diner was only less than fifteen feet away. _Yup, piece of cake._ Absolutely nothing to worry about.

But they couldn't have been more wrong…

They wouldn't have even made it three feet when the supposedly- _weak_ -zombie charged at them like a raging bull. _Damn!_ Was it just them or was this zombie a lot faster than the other zombies? Before Merida could fire the arrow at it, the thin fleshless zombie grabbed her and flung her into the air and into the side of the Chevy. Merida hit the door of the car and collapsed on the ground. Her bow and arrow lay uselessly by her side.

"Merid-"

Before the others could even utter another syllable, the _ultra-strong-super-fast_ zombie rammed itself straight into Jack and he went down hard; almost taking Hiccup and Rapunzel down with him. The back of Jack's head hit the ground hard and he grimaced _; Shit, he's gonna feel that in the morning… If he even makes it till_ _morning that is._

The zombie was so strong that Jack literally had to use everything he had and more to keep the zombie from biting into him like he was some sort of a fat juicy turkey on Thanksgiving night. He felt like he was fighting a sumo wrestler on steroids. _How could this frail looking zombie have so much power?_

The zombie was trying to go straight for his neck and Jack was determined not to let it have the satisfaction of tasting his flesh… and also not to get turned into a cannibal zombie of course.

Toothless, the loyal creature that it was, was trying very hard to get the zombie off Jack. He had pounced on the decaying creature's back and was digging its claws and fangs into it like a possessed animal. But that didn't seem to deter the zombie even in the slightest way.

Rapunzel shrieked when she saw the zombie head straight for them and tackled Jack to the ground. She stumbled back awkwardly but was able to stay on her feet while still holding a slumped Hiccup. He was gasping in pain. He was half lying on the ground and she could see him trying very hard not to pass out. She saw Jack pinned under the zombie with the unusual supernatural strength. _This is not happening!_ She felt the familiar rise of overwhelming panic overtake her rapidly beating heart. "JACK!"

He grunted loudly and colorfully swore before shouting at her. "Go Rapunzel! Get into the diner NOW!"

"No! I can't just leave yo-"

"Listen to me, Punzie! Urg…! Hiccup _needs_ you right now!" Jack grunted again as he felt the zombie increase its strength; _Jeez, this zombie was really determined to have him for dinner, wasn't it?_

He felt a little guiltily for putting that kind of pressure on Rapunzel but it couldn't be helped right now, he could distract the zombie long enough for them to get to safety, besides if it meant that she and Hiccup would be safe then it was worth it.

Plus there was no way he was dying now, he had to save Merida and live to gloat about it later. "Get into the diner, I'll be fine I promise!"

 _I promise…_

Rapunzel reluctantly but hurriedly lifted a half conscious Hiccup. He was almost completely leaning on her and she could see blood seeping through the bandages from the corner of her eye. _Shoot! He must have torn the stitches when Jack went down_. She grunted at his weight; for a scrawny looking kid, Hiccup sure was heavy. She glanced one last time at Jack before dragging her brunette friend in the other direction. She knew Hiccup was concentrating hard on keeping one foot in front of the other just like she was coaching him to do. And right now that's about all she could ask of him. He only stumbled a few times but he was doing great, _considering.._.

Her mind was racing over time. Did she do the right thing…? Was she kidding herself?! She practically gave Jack to the zombie on a silver platter! _Oh God! Oh God! What have I done! I shouldn't just leave him there!_ What if he dies! Or gets turned into one of them? _No!_ She **believed** in him. _Jack made her a promise… He would keep it. He would! She knew he would… he had to._

But a voice kept whispering to her.

 _What if he doesn't this time…? What if he can't?_

She shook her head as tears clouded her eyes. No, he _will_ come back to her. She refused to believe anything else as she reached the door of the diner. She froze when she heard the distinct sounds…

Sounds that both relieved her and spiked fear in her heart at the same time.

 _Fear for Jack…_

 ** _Meanwhile_** **-**

Jack struggled under the weight of the zombie. The creature itself wasn't all that heavy but the sheer power and effort it was putting on trying to bite his neck was just baffling. Jack couldn't even kick the zombie off of him like he did before and he couldn't get his gun out either. It was pressed so hard against his lower back that he was sure it was starting to bruise. His arms were beginning to feel the strain from the exertion. They began to shake with effort as they were pushed back. Jack grunted and pressed his head back onto the semi concrete ground. _This was it… this time for sure! This was the end of the line for him. He knew it._ His eyes flickered to where Rapunzel and Hiccup were. They were close to the diner's entry point now. _Thank god… They were gonna be okay…_ He just had to hold on a little while longer.

He saw red beady eyes for a split second, somewhere on the roof of the diner. He heard the ominous caw of the crow _. It was the bird from earlier…_ or a different bird. It's not like he could tell the difference between them all anyway. It was strange though; it was almost as if… It was _following_ him. But then again, it could be just that the bird was waiting to feed on the dead remains that the zombies left behind.

 _His_ dead remains…

Merida wasn't in his line of sight so he didn't know if she was alright or not. He just barely saw Merida's head hit one of the windows on the side of the car, causing spider web like cracks on it, before the zombie had attacked him. He hoped she wasn't unconscious. He wished she would snap out of it and get to the diner too. He couldn't hold on much longer.

Despite Toothless's best attempts to help Jack, the zombie was winning. It was too close to Jack's shoulder now. Nearly at his neck.

It was going in for the kill…

It's disgustingly rotten teeth were only half an inch away from Jack's jugular when a series of gunshots rang out repeatedly; all burying themselves into the side of the zombie's head. It took Jack three whole seconds to realize that the zombie had been shot at _. But I don't remember using my gun_ … _so then,_ _who the hell fired at the zombie?_

A dazed Merida was just coming to, when she heard the loud unmistakable sound of gunshot sounds. She winced and rubbed the back of her head with her left hand and blinked open her eyes to focus on the scene before her. Jack was laying on the ground with a zombie on top of him. The both of them were still struggling… the zombie still very much alive. So what were the gunshots for? And where did they come from? Or was she just imagining it all… Maybe she had a concussion. _Snap outta' it, lassie!_ She told herself as she grabbed her bow and began to stand up. A wave of dizziness overtook her and she suddenly felt very tired and wanted nothing more than to sleep… for weeks. Okay, concussion it is then… But she had bigger things to worry about now.

Jack was sure the bullets had lodged themselves right into the zombie's brain; or what was left of it. It shouldn't be this hard to kill a freaking dead-thing. What the hell made this zombie so special? He just couldn't figure it out. The zombie wasn't dead but the shots did weaken it considerably. He still couldn't kick the zombie off him but he could crawl away from under it. Now, if he could find some sort of a distraction for the creature…

Luckily for Jack, Merida came swooping in to the rescue.

She raised her weapon high above her head and brought it down on the zombie's head. But that wasn't such a good idea she realized a split second later as the creature's head snapped closer to Jack's. _Oops, wrong decision… Stupid concussion._ She wasn't able to think clearly. Would arrows have worked on this un-killable zombie? Speaking of arrows, where was hers?

"Whoa!" Jack yelped when the disfigured face of the zombie suddenly came unbelievably close to his face. "Don't _help_ it," He scolded Merida as he used extra energy to push the zombie away from him once more. This time though he saw Merida swing her bow sideways, like a tennis player, going straight for the zombie's head again. The lower limb of her bow hit true to its mark so swiftly that they heard an audible crack sound that came from the zombie's fragile neck. Its head snapped to the right and then hung limply a moment later; lolling lazily.

Jack didn't waste any time as he proceeded to quickly crawl backwards from underneath the zombie, partially kicking at it too. It was still very much alive and was growling, moaning and gurgling at the same time. Merida helped Jack all the way up.

As soon as Jack got to his feet, he grabbed her hand in a hurry and they rushed to the diner's threshold. Merida halted jerkily and yelped in surprise. Jack's head snapped back to see why she had stopped running and saw that the un-killable zombie had grabbed ahold of her ankle. It was tugging weakly but its grip was strong. Merida sluggishly swung her bow at the zombie while trying to pull her leg from its grasp. It only tightened its hold. She cursed at her concussion for the second time that night. _The zombie was determent, she'd give it that much._

Jack thought fast and pulled out his gun from his waistband. Instead of aiming it at the zombie's head, which obviously did no good, he aimed it at its abnormally thin wrist and fired. Merida fell back onto Jack with the detached maggot hand still clinging to her ankle. The zombie yelled out in an animalistic manner. Either from the pain or from the vexation of losing its prey, they could not say.

They didn't wait to find out as they finally made it into the diner. The second Jack closed the door and turned around; he was met with a barrel of a rifle pointing threateningly at his face and an angry looking teenager holding it there.

 _This was going to be looong night…_

* * *

Hmm... I wonder who this teenager is going to be. Will it be someone from the story? Or someone else entirely? Feel free to let me know through your reviews or PMs.

 **SHOUT OUTS TIME!**

 **RedLegoManiac:** Thank you! And thank you for the cookie! Here's three from me! (::)(::)(::)  
 **AvaniAcrux** **:** Hehe, c'mon you really think I'd kill off my poor dragon child so soon in the story. Nope. Not yet. But yay! Thank you so so so so much for the love! As for the infection that's still out there and Hiccup being vulnerable to it, you'll have to wait and watch. (::)(::)  
 **Infrared-Ultraviolet** **:** Lol, SAME! My reaction would be the same. Ah.. poor Punzie. And yes, All shall be revealed in due time. All you gotta do is stick around. And thank you! I tried my best to keep the characters... well, in character as possible. XD I'm super glad your enjoying it! Ah yes, the frying pan. XD I couldn't resist tbh. Your review to the 'serial killer' Jack had me laughing like crazy. Yes, we are all disappointing in you, Jack. YES! WE MUST ELIMINATE THE THREAT IMMEDIATELY! JACKUNZEL ALL THE WAY! AND OH GOSH I KNOW! DAMMIT! FOXES EVERYWHERE MAN! I LOVE THEM SO MUCH IT HURTS! (::)  
Yup, I thought Toothless being a dog suited him more. Plus, in the movie, Toothless always does a lot of dog-like things. So yeah. And IKR! *shakes head at Hiccup* My little nerd child. As for his past, you'll have to wait and find out. Thank you for the compliment on Hic's character. I tried very hard to match his sarcasm to this story and I'm glad it didn't come out as forced. And yes! About the 'it' and 'he' IM SO SORRY! THAT WAS NEVER MEANT TO HAPPEN! Pretty sure my brain farted there cause I LOVE ANIMALS and would normally never let that happen but yeah... I'll be more careful next time. Sometimes I'll make mistakes so if it happens again, please let me know. I'll fix it. (::)(::)  
 **OneWhoDreamz:** You had me thinking about Katy Perry's Fireworks song in the beginning. SHINE BRIGHTER THAN THE SUN DREAMER! Your welcome and thank you so much for investing in this little story of mine. You didn't have to, but you did and for that I am beyond grateful. EMBRACE WHO YOU ARE! AND LET THE ADVENTURE BEGIN! ONWARDS WE GO! (::)(::)(::)  
 **LoneWolfPunk101** **:** NOOOO! JEFF! My Jeffery! You ate him, you monster! (lol jk, it had to be done) Jeff was going to kill you in your sleep so I guess it was for the best. BUT WORRY NOT! I have another gift for you. (::) TADA! Another cookie! (This one is safe, I promise.)  
 **Guest:** Oh no! Please don't be angry! Umm... Here, *shoves a pizza towards you* It's all I've got between the cake and cookies. Take it. Please dont be mad... (::) _  
_


	16. Chapter 15

**A.N:** Alrighty! Here is the next chapter that's here to end all your curiosities! XD

Love you all for the Favorites and Follows!

Without delay, let's dive in, shall we?

 **ENJOY!**

* * *

 **Chapter 15: Nothing Like a Long Relaxing Night at the Diner.**

Jack glared at the guy holding the rifle to his face. He vaguely remembered this guy's face from school. From the guy's build, he was definitely the school's jock; maybe even the captain. He wore a too tight t-shirt which showed off his bulky muscles. The shirt was white and was covered with blood splatter. Some even looked fresh. The jock wore blue jeans but with the amount of mud and dried blood on it, it almost looked completely brown.

Jack's eyes traveled across the diner to the right. He first saw Rapunzel, who still held onto Hiccup who was leaning on her completely now; his good arm over her neck. She hadn't even sat him down yet and he guessed the jock was the reason for that. Rapunzel's eyes met his and she gave him a pleading look as if to tell him to be careful in handling their current situation and to hurry up and do whatever he wanted to do so Hiccup could rest.

Hiccup looked sick; he needed to lie down as soon as possible so whatever happened next, Jack would have to make it fast. He saw the bandage on Hiccup's shoulder had turned red. _Shit!_ Hiccup must've ruined the stitches when the zombie tackled Jack before. Guilt rushed into Jack's heart like a flood. _It's all my fault!_ Hiccup's hurting cause of him. If only he had been more careful… Why do the people who are close to him always have to pay the price for him? It was so unfair…

Merida stood right next to him, holding her head. Even if he couldn't see her face he knew she was glaring at the jock just as he was. He knew she had a concussion, judging from her sluggish movements, her terrible aim, and the lack of clear thinking. He suffered from many concussions before so he knows what it feels like. She was swaying slightly from dizziness, though she was trying very hard to seem stable. She needed to lie down as well.

Jack's eyes then traveled to the left of the diner. Looks like the jock wasn't alone, a girl stood a few feet behind him; her hair went up to her waist and her fringe covered one of her blue eyes. She had blonde braided hair too, but unlike Rapunzel's, hers was much thinner and less golden more white. She wore purple leggings with a matching buttons up cardigan. She was resting her hands on her hips and looking at them judgmentally.

Jack also saw another guy with brown hair both parted at his forehead and tied to a little rattail at the back of his neck. He wore a black leather jacket on a dark green ochre V-neck shirt. He also wore green cargo pants and thick leather boots. He was resting his own rifle on his lap and was leaning on the table at the far end of the diner near a booth. He was quiet… A little too quiet; almost indifferent; suspicious even.

In that same booth, a girl sat quietly. She had long bouncy red hair. She wore a long silver chain with a big cross dollar hanging. Unlike any of the others, she wore a long pinkish-beige colored dress that went down to her calves. The dress had frills from her waist down and some on her shoulder sleeves.

So a total of four people in the diner besides them that Jack would have to deal with then. At least now they knew who had shot at the zombies earlier; _either the jock guy or the rattail guy or both_. The only question now was, were these people friend or foe? Cause in situations like these, you can never be sure.

Since the jock didn't look like he was going to start the conversation any time soon, Jack spoke up. The sooner they got this over with the better. "We don't want any trouble, alright. We just need a place to spend the night."

The jock eyed him from top to toe before he gazed at the rest of Jack's gang. His eyes lingered on Rapunzel longer than Jack would have liked. He still held his colt in his hand. Things could get messy if he wasn't careful. It looked like anything could set this guy off. He was taking too long to come to a decision so Jack spoke again. "Look, my friends need rest-"

He was cut off by the rattail guy at the back. "Were any of you bitten?"

"No," came Jack's swift and simple answer.

"What about him?" The jock asked disdainfully, pointing his rifle at Hiccup. "Looks to me like he's been bitten."

"He was shot," Jack snapped in irritation. He was quickly getting tired of these questions. A long exhausting day that just doesn't seem to be ending will make anyone snarky and impatient. All he wanted to do was get his friends to safety and go to sleep. _Was that too much to ask?_

"Just leave 'em alone, Flynn." The blonde girl standing behind him said. "They look like they're telling the truth."

"We are. So mind getting that rifle outta my face so I can help my friends?" Jack glared. It's not like the jock-Flynn had any other choice in a few more minutes-he'd fight him if that's what it took.

Flynn's eyes slide back to Rapunzel and she nodded. Some sort of a silent communication was happening between them, Jack noticed. He wondered if Rapunzel knew Flynn or how well she knew him. The scowl on his face reminded Jack of someone, but who, he couldn't remember. The jock finally lowered his rifle and stepped back allowing Jack and Merida to move to where Rapunzel and Hiccup were.

They helped Hiccup lay down in one of the far right booths; as far away from the other teenage gang as possible. Hiccup was completely unconscious now; having exhausted what little energy he had left in the zombie fight earlier. He only groaned when his shoulder shifted but otherwise seemed blissfully unaware of his surroundings.

"Those need to be cleaned and re-treated," Rapunzel said out loud to the others, gesturing to the bloodied bandages. "Before it gets infected."

"The first aid kit's back in ta car," Merida said. As much as it pained her to say it. "We can't go back out there,"

Jack sighed in frustration as he combed a hand through his white hair. If they didn't have a choice then they would have to go back out again. _Why didn't he maneuver the car even closer to the door while running over those zombies?_ He whined in his head. Who knows, maybe the other guys would be generous enough to help them. Just when Jack finished the thought he saw the girl with the blonde hair come up to them.

"Name's Astrid," She introduced herself. "The hard-case over there's Flynn. And the lovely couple over there's Jim and Ariel."

"For the last time, Astrid. We're not a couple!" The boy yelled out and the girl- Ariel blushed but signed the same. Ariel could hear but she couldn't talk so she used sigh language to communicate.

It reminded Jack of a certain golden haired friend back home.

"Sure, that's why your always hanging out together," Astrid threw over her shoulder; chuckling. Her friends were just too easy. She knew they weren't a couple but she was sure they were getting there… They just didn't know it.

"Great, so did ya come here just to introduce yerself n' yer gang or wha'?" Merida asked with the least amount of concern. These guys are the ones who were pointing guns at their faces not ten minutes ago so excuse her if being polite wasn't at the top of her list right now.

"No, actually. We overheard you guys talking about first aid stuff so we decided to help you out," She said as she lifted up the big white box that she had been carrying so they could see. "Besides, the dude looks like he could use it."

"Thank you. We really appreciate it," Rapunzel said taking the box from Astrid. "I'm Rapunzel. This is Jack, Merida and Hiccup."

"Hiccup?" Astrid chuckled. She knew the other three teens. _Rapunzel_ ; the polite rich girl, _Jack Frost_ ; the coldest kid in town and _Merida;_ the archery expert-who, one day, would make their school proud. She's never heard of Hiccup before. "That's a weird name. Anyway, there's only a little antibiotic left so you better be careful about how much of it you use. Make sure you don't use it all up."

"Oh, don't worry. I won't ne -" Rapunzel said, continuing to treat Hiccup's shoulder just when she heard Flynn mutter something loud enough for them to hear.

"If you ask me, we shouldn't have even wasted any bullets on you guys, let alone allowed you to stay here and give you _our_ supplies," They heard him say.

"Hey! What the hell's your problem, man?" Jack said with frustration as he stood up and strode over to the jock.

Flynn moved away from the door he was fixing back up and met the snowy haired boy half way, his back straight, shoulders squared; ready to fight. He was taller than Jack by a few inches and was well built with bulkier muscles.

"Is that a trick question?" Flynn shot back. "Look around! We're at a zombie war! We should be saving our ammo and supplies, not wasting it on a bunch of losers! If it wasn't for Ariel-"

"Alright that's enough, Rider." Astrid said calmly walking up to the two of them and placing a hand on Flynn's shoulder. This wasn't the time to be fighting.

 _Wait a second… Rider?_ Now Jack remembered where he had seen that scowl before. This guy was the son of Officer Rider, no doubt about it. The cop always scowled and glared at him whenever he had gone to the police station. Though Jack never actually met the man in person, he could easily tell that the cop's attitude was very similar to Flynn's current one.

 _Wait another second…_ Wasn't Officer Rider the one who had completely turned robo-zombie and chased Hiccup and grabbed onto their car until they killed it? Jeez… Talk about small world… Or town.

"You know, your dad must be so proud of you for being all selfless like this," Jack said sarcastically. He knew what he was about to say next was hitting below the belt but he couldn't help it. Words just rolled out of his tongue before he could hold them back "Well, he would be if he didn't have an umbrella sticking out of his throat."

Hurt flashed across Flynn's face when the realization of what Jack said hit him like a brick wall. _Damn it, dad! How could you be so careless!_ Officer Rider was Flynn's step dad. But even though he was a step dad, Flynn loved the man. The look on his face was gone and was now replaced by an emotionless one. Although instead of the hurt, his eyes showed rage.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" He hissed as he grabbed a fist full of Jack's hoodie and pulled him closer. So close that their noses were practically touching.

Jack just glared back with equal intensity. Just because this guy was bigger and maybe stronger than him didn't mean he would have to back down. He was never the type to back down from a fight anyway, besides he had speed on his side. He balled up his fists and almost said something but Rapunzel beat him to it, yelling out from the other side of the diner. "Back off, Flynn. For your own good. He's Jack Frost!"

Immediately after hearing that name, Flynn's rage filled eyes widened; not from fear, mind you but from surprise. He wasn't expecting that at all. **_The_** _Jack Frost? The child killer? Here? Seriously?_ His eyes moved to Jack's silvery hair and he smirked, forcibly letting go of the blue hoodie and thrusting the other teen back.

"Jack Frost, huh? I didn't know you had… white hair," Flynn snickered, momentarily looking behind him at his friends "Guess he took the name seriously." He said before bursting out in laughter.

Jack wasn't the least bit fazed by the jock's insult. He rolled his eyes and raised an eye brow. Just a minute ago this guy looked like he was about to burst a blood vessel but now he was close to passing out from laughter. Jack just stood there, arms crossed over his chest, resisting the urge to roll his eyes again. _C'mon, the name wasn't that funny and the hair was more of a rebellious act._

Rapunzel, who couldn't take the jock mocking her close friend anymore, smirked and said out loud so everyone in the diner would hear her "You shouldn't be the one to talk about names, _Eugene Fitzherbert_."

Flynn's laughter died instantaneously and his face turned red. He let out an absurdly high pitched whine "Rapunzel! You promised you wouldn't tell anyone!"

She shrugged in response and smiled sweetly at him, as she stuck another piece of tape on the gauze on Hiccup's shoulder. Merida was suppressing her own snickers with one hand over her mouth and the other giving the golden haired girl the last bit of tape. Toothless, who had been super tense before was now sticking his tongue out and wagging his tail happily as if he had sensed the tension in the room dissipate.

Jack shook his head; clearly amused.

"So what are you guys doing out here anyway?" Astrid asked.

"We were planning' on leavin' town but Hic her' got shot." _Because of me…_ Merida said as Jack came back to sit with them.

"Oh… We were gonna do the same thing too,"

"Then what made you guys stay here?" Rapunzel asked.

"Flynn's dumb Ford broke down, good thing we were close by," She shrugged "The three of us got here only a few hours before you guys showed up."

"Three of ya?" Merida asked with her right eyebrow raised.

"Yup, Flynn, Ariel and myself" She shrugged. "You should have seen the diner when we got here. Tons of zombies walking around until we killed them all and dumped their bodies out back." _Like the freaking bad-assess we are!_

They all looked like they didn't believe her; especially Jack and Merida. "What? You thought this diner was zombie-free when we came here?"

They shrugged in response. _Guess not… nothing was zombie-free anymore._

"And 'im." Merida asked jerking her head to the brunette boy with Ariel.

"Jim? Oh, he wasn't with us. He came here just like you guys about six hours ago. He was hunting with his father when some zombies got the drop on them but Jimbo somehow managed to escape and made it here," She left it at that. Not wanting to give too much information away.

"So only the three of you made it this far from town?" Jack asked. He only then began to wonder how many fortunate people managed to escape the Zombie Apocalypse.

"No. There are a lot others…" She said confidently "Believe it or not, they're all safe and sound back at St. Paul's Church. We all decided that the three of us should come out here and find a way out of this cursed zombie-infested town."

The others said nothing but nodded.

Astrid shrugged again. They looked pretty wiped out; and she didn't doubt for a second that it was easy for them to get this far. It hadn't exactly been a walk in the park for them either. In fact, if it wasn't for the mini arsenal that Jim fortunately brought with him, they'd be zombie food by now.

They had to kill a lot of zombie that lingered inside the diner which included the customers, the cooks, and the waitresses. Every one of them had been turned. Then they had to dump all the bodies out back and board up the place. No, it wasn't easy at all. _And now…_ They could ALL use some good night's rest

"C'mon, _Eugene_ … Time for a nap big fella," Astrid said, tugging at Flynn's arm, holding back a chortle. He hunched his shoulders and surrendered in embracement and followed her to the other far side of the diner where the other two were no doubt chuckling at his newly revealed name too.

Jack then turned back to the two girls who sat across from him. Hiccup was sleeping blissfully on the table between them and Toothless was staying guard near the window, just in case. He could see their eyes drooping already. He practically chuckled. "Why don't you two get some sleep," he suggested.

"And what about you?" Rapunzel asked rubbing the back of her hand over her right eye.

"I'll stay awake to keep watc-"

"No way! You're just as exhausted as we are, if not more… You need to rest too."

"I'll be fine, Punz-"

"Listen ta the Doc, Snowcone. She knows wha' she's talkin' about," Merida said. She knew just how to make Jack listen to them. One guilt trip with extra-large fries coming up. "Ya won' be any good ta us if ya pass out later when weh need ya. Besides we got Toothless here to keep us safe, right boy?" She said, stroking the beautiful black fur on his back.

 **Bark! Bark! Bark!**

"See?" Merida smirked and Rapunzel looked at him, almost in a pleading way to tell him to go to sleep.

Jack grinned and shook his head. _They're all ganging up on me. A guy just doesn't stand a chance, does he?_ But Merida was right though, he won't be able to help them if he wasn't charged up… She was also right about another thing; he **_was_** exhausted; beyond belief in fact. His arms and legs ached and he was starting to feel a headache come on. Suddenly, a good night's rest didn't seem so bad after all "Fine…" He said knowing that he had already lost the argument. He lifted his legs up onto the plastic bench and crossed them casually at his ankles. He lay on his back, resting his head on his crossed arms _. Might as well get comfy while he's at it, right?_

Rapunzel and Merida shared a knowing smile then the latter got up from the bench to give the golden haired girl more space. She had no problem resting in the adjacent booth. But before she left she tapped Rapunzel's shoulder and asked. "Is he gonna be okay for ta night?"

Rapunzel's smile widened but she pretended like the red-head's words had no deeper feeing in them and answered. "We gave him those pills for the light fever he has, remember? He should feel fine in the morning."

"Ya sure?"

"I'm sure."

"Okay, good night then,"

"Good night, Merida."

At least they all hoped it would be a good night…

* * *

Ahh... Some peace and quiet at last. And looks like they're getting their well deserved rest too. (But not for long...?)

I donno why I made Flynn such a douche... I donno, I felt like it suited him in my story and the characters fit the part well so yeah. Gosh I'm so tired I dont know how to make proper sentences anymore.

Hope you liked this one. You'll never guess what I have planned for next chapter. Hang in there!

 **SHOUT OUTS!**

 **AvaniAcrux:** Well... I could just tell you but then again, where would the fun in that be, am I right? XD Plus, this chapter would've cleared some of your doubts. Hope you liked this update! (::)(::)(::) Oh and thank you for the bday wishes! And dont worry I wont kill them... "NOT YET" XD  
 **Guest:** Wow, I'm pretty darn impressed with your guesses. Spot on there and for that you get an extra cookie! (::)(::)(::) Hope this chapter met your expectation for Jackunzel and Eugeazel (There's a bit of history there, but we'll get to that later) *wink wonk*  
 **OneWhoDreamz:** Ah yes, the little birdie seems to be trying to convey something, doesn't he? Keep a close eye on him for me. He just might help you find something. And lol, unfortunately there's no RWBY ref here. And your brain is right there XD But keep guessing. *taps fingers against each other as I laugh like a maniac* (::)(::)  
 **M.K.47:** Well, hello there Jeremy! Nice to meet you! AH YES! THE THREE Ss! They are my favorite too! Thank you for liking my fanfic so much! I look forward to reading some of your work if you ever decide to post it online. (::)  
 **LoneWolfPunk1016** **:** Oh, I did die. Just not on the outside. I'm an empty shell until 2016 ends cause... reasons. I swear this year has been the absolute worst! The only thing keeping me going is fanfics. But oh gosh the compliments! *blushes* Thanks you! (::)

Thank you all for reviewing!

Until next time!  
Please Review for encouragement and optimism! IT FUELS THE VOID IN MY SOUL!  
LOVE YOU!  
Byeeee!


	17. Chapter 16

**A.N:** Hi guys! Gosh its been so long that I'd actually forgotten my login password XD

I apologize for taking so long. These past few months have been the worst and after a near mental breakdown to finally recovering, I've managed to update at least one of my fanfics. I'll update the BH6 one as soon as I can. I have to re-read the whole thing so I can get the flow back.

Please bear with me, you guys!

 **A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL THOSE WHO'VE BEEN STICKING WITH ME THROUGH THIS WHOLE THING!** As always, I love you! And I'll try harder to bring you regular updates.

For now, Please ENJOY!

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 **Chapter 16: Dream A Little Dream Of Me**

" _Why Jack?"_

Familiar voices echoed together in union around him…

 _"_ _Why didn't you save us?"_

Jack stood alone, bare feet touching the ground and yet feeling nothing. He looked around him but there was only darkness.

 _"_ _Why didn't you protect us?"_

He spun around again. The echoing voices got closer and closer with each passing word; with each whisper… they were almost hissing…

 _With fear?_

 _Or anger?_

 _Or perhaps sadness…?_

There was no ground beneath him and no sky above him… just a black void of nothingness that seemed to go on forever and ever.

 _"_ _It's your fault!"_

 _"_ _All your fault!"_

 _"_ _We're dead because of you!"_

"Ugh, stop it…" Jack closed his ears with both his hands and shut his blue eyes tight "Stop it!" He yelled at the voices that wouldn't leave him alone. He just wanted to be alone… but the voices…

He knew those voices… They were the voices that belonged to his friends. His new friends…

 _His best Friends… His only friends…_

Everything stilled in silence, not an echo; not even a whisper. Jack slowly but reluctantly opened his eyes and quickly wished he hadn't.

In front of him stood Rapunzel; wearing the same clothes he always saw her in. Except that she was completely drenched in blood. Red covered her stripped shirt and her blue pant. Her once pretty golden hair was now covered in crimson red. Her clothes dirtied and tattered. But what scared him the most were her eyes. Her once expressive eyes looked utterly vacant now… they looked dead. _She_ looked dead…

He heard scuffling beside him, only a few feet away. He forced his eyes to take their sight off the girl he once knew to look to his right. His heart skipped another beat. There was Hiccup; standing there with a missing arm and a nasty hole where his shoulder should be. Blood covered him as well. He would throw up if he could. But at the moment he could do nothing but stare at his former friend.

Jack's breathing got quicker as he heard a whimpering moan to his left. He knew who was making it, he didn't want to see, he didn't want to witness it… but his body seemed to move on its own accord as he found himself shifting his gaze to his left, Merida stood there, rocking slightly back and forth. A deep scar ran across her face, starting from her left temple to the right side of her chin. Her appearance matched her bright red hair. He always thought the color red suited her, but this…?

 _This was wrong in so many ways_.

All of them had the same vacant look in their eyes and yet, it bore through Jack's crystal blue ones and into his soul. Almost as if their cold dead eyes were stealing the life from his. It felt like a red hot spear had pierced his heart. Their judgmental but empty gaze chilled him to his very core.

Jack staggered back; away from them but a little voice stopped him dead in his tracks.

 _"_ _Why Jack…? Why did you kill me?"_ A small voice asked.

Jack was at the point of hyperventilating now. He jerkily turned back to look over his shoulder; eyes as wide as saucers.

A seven year old girl sat, cross legged on nothing but the black pits of emptiness. She wore a pink dress that ended just below her knee, if she stood. Pink rosy ribbons were tied neatly around at her thin waist. A matching pink hairband sat on her chocolate brown hair; neatly keeping the wayward strands in place. A flowery pink band was wrapped around her wrist; showing off her skinny arms. The tiny indigo earing she wore on her left ear sparkled at the invisible light that shown on it. It was a contrast with everything around her.

Unlike his friends, she wasn't drenched in blood. Her clothes weren't dirty or tattered. She simply stood there, quietly, like an angel. Her eyes weren't vacant but Jack almost wished they were because what he saw in them was much worse.

What he saw in them was _pain_ and hurt and betrayal.

Each one of her emotion where like unbearable daggers through his heart. Tears were streaming freely down his face but he made no attempt to stop them. Far too focused on the little girl who was tearing him up inside with nothing but her gaze. He could barely choke out her name but somehow seemed to manage it.

"Emma?"

 _"_ _You killed me, Jack."_

"No… no I didn't… I'm sorry," He pleaded with the girl in front of him who began to stand up. "I'm sorry, Emma… Please… Forgive me… I tried. I tried to save you."

Emma tilted her head. _"You said you would always be there for me…"_ She stood straight, facing him; her hands hung limply at her side.

"I know… I know. God, Emma… I-I let you down and I'm so sorry for that… " His voice crackled.

Jack choked out another sob when he saw crimson red starting to stain his little sister's frilly pink dress near her stomach. _God! This can't be happening… not again! Please!_ He couldn't deal with this again! He barely could the first time.

 _"_ _But you weren't… I believed in you…And you killed me,"_ She said ignoring his depress and the agony she was causing him by just her words. Crimson tears rolled down her cheeks, staining some of the frills it landed on bright red.

"Emma…" was all Jack could get out at this point. He didn't know what else to say or what else to do. How was he supposed to ask his sister to forgive him when he couldn't even forgive himself? He didn't even deserve to say her name. She deserved a better big brother. One, who would protect her; One, who didn't screw up as badly as he did; One, who would always be there for her no matter what.

He had failed her, he knew that. He wished he could have stayed and made things right but he couldn't because his parents wouldn't believe him either. They thought he was a killer… A cold blooded killer who killed his own little sister. He could clearly imagine his parents' disapproving looks. _"No son of ours would attempt to kill his own sister."_

"But I didn't mean to… It was an accident, I swear," He whispered to the invicible voices "I didn't kill her… She's not dead. She can't be."

"But I'm dead… and Its. All. Your. Fault."

"No…" he whimpered and fell to his knees; his legs unable to hold his weight any longer. He hunched over and wrapped his arms around himself desperately trying to hide away from the voices, from his dead friends, from his little sister… from everyone.

Suddenly, his blue eyes snapped open in shock.

His eyes widened more when he brought his right hand up. He was clutching onto something with a death grip. His vision was blurry due to the hot tears that remained there but he could easily make out the object he so hated with very fiber of his being.

The colt… The gun that ruined his life and almost ended his sister's.

He could see and feel every detail on it as clear as a crystal now; very screw, very edge. The nickel plated colt rested on his rigid hands; mocking him, showing off its ivory handles and decorative engraving; tormenting him. He wanted to get rid of it but found that he couldn't… For some reason he just couldn't.

It shouldn't be so god-damn hard to throw away the one thing he hated most in his life and yet, there he was… clutching onto it like it was some sort of a lifeline for him. _How pathetic was that?_

Out of the shadows, people began to appear all around him. All the people he had let down… His parents, David, his friends, his little sister… and the list went on. Their voices were all jumbled up… merging into one.

He grabbed his head to clear them away but it didn't work this time… If anything, it only made the voices angrier and their echo got louder and louder until they were at the point of screaming.

 ** _ALL YOUR FAULT!_**

 ** _ALL YOUR FAULT!_**

 ** _ALL YOUR FAULT!_**

They were screaming it over and over again. Like a damaged messed up record player…

His mind whispered to deaf ears - _Stop it!_

 _…_

 _Please…_

 _I can't take anymore…_

Jack lifted his head up to find the colt, the one he held once, the one he hated, being pointed right at him; right between his tear filled eyes. Before he could prepare himself for the pain the invisible fingers pulled at the trigger…

 **BANG!**

"Gah!" Jack gasped and bolted up right. He wiped a shaky hand across his sweaty forehead and over his eyes then combed it through his messy white hair. _What a freaky nightmare…_ He looked over at his sleeping friends who were oblivious to his distress. He planned to keep it that way. He scooted away from the booths silently, mindful not to disturb the others.

He hoped this diner were one of those with the open roofs. He needed to get some fresh air… this place was making him claustrophobic. He felt like he had hit the jackpot when he found a door that led to the roof. It was one of those diners with the huge air vents everywhere. _Good…_ he thought as he opened the last metal door with a creaking sound and stepped out into the night. He went to one of the edges of the roof and sat down; his back resting against the wall; head leaning back, eyes closed.

Whenever he felt like this back at David's place, he'd always go out the window of his room and sit up on the slanting roof. It always helped calm him; the wind brushing against his cold cheeks and gently caressing through his hair; looking up at the wide open night sky, stars and especially the moon.

He pulled out his gun and held it in his hands. His fingers traced the beautiful engraving on its barrel, memorizing each curve and swirl it made while his eyes were still closed; thinking back to how it came to be in his possession in the first place. That dreadful night. The night he would never be able to forget. He opened his eyes slowly, head facing the sky above. His sight fell on the moon. It was huge and bright and… red?

 _What the-_

Could moons turn red…? It was a faint red, easily mistakable for orange if you weren't concentrating. Nevertheless it illuminated the night; glowing as brightly as ever. He heard the creak sound of the door again, letting him know that he wasn't alone anymore. The metal door was too heavy for the soft winds to move by themselves so he knew someone had followed him, but _who?_

Then he heard the voice he knew even before he identified its owner.

"Couldn't sleep, huh?"

Jack shrugged but said nothing and kept his eyes glued to the moon.

"I knew I'd find you up here," Rapunzel said again as she came to sit beside him. She sat so close that their shoulders were almost brushing. She had heard his gasp earlier. She could tell it was some sort of a nightmare; and a bad one at that, by the looks of it. It really didn't take a genius to figure out he'd come up here.

"Yeah? How come?"

Rapunzel wordlessly pointed up at the moon and smiled at him; almost sympathetically. "Wanna talk about it?"

"Not really…" Jack sighed. He brought his head down; stealing his gaze away from the moon. It was no use… He couldn't see his sisters face up there; no matter how hard he tried to focus. _Something was wrong_ … _Was she okay?_ _Was she hurt!_ God, _had the zombies gotten her too?_ He wished someone would just answer his questions already. Any truth was better than not knowing anything at all.

His worries didn't go unnoticed by Rapunzel even though the tufts his snowy bangs fell over his eyes; hiding his watery blue eyes from her. She could feel the worry radiating off of him in waves. The poor guy was so stressed out.

"Talking always helps me…" Rapunzel tried again; tried to get him to open up. Come to think about it, she knew nothing about him; only rumors to go on. Rumors that she believed were wrong and false. She prayed he would just talk to her about _his_ problems for once. _Please don't shut me out, Jack_ "It'll help you too…"

 _She wouldn't get it even if he told her…_ "Ever feel like, you can never redeem yourself? Like, no matter what you did, it always ended up being a mistake… Mistakes that would cost people their lives?" He asked, turning to look her in the eye; not expecting her to understand him.

Rapunzel opened her mouth to say something but closed it again; not knowing what to say. She stayed silent; begging him to continue. Granted, she didn't understand; not yet anyway. She wasn't a mind reader to read his thoughts or understand his cryptic words. But she'll be damned if she didn't help him find some peace of mind at least. She saw him longingly look back up at the moon again; begging it to answer his questions; to answer his silent prayers

"You see someone up there, don't you?" She asked as softly as possible. She wasn't going to insult him by pretending to not notice he saw someone's face in the moon; or at least wanted to see.

"I used to…" Jack replied with sadness. "Now I can't see her anymore."

 _Her?_ Rapunzel felt uneasy all of a sudden _. He saw some girl's face in the moon? Who was she? A childhood friend? Or a close neighbor perhaps… or maybe his girlfriend from back home?_ She felt a strange sensation overwhelm her. _Jealousy?_ Was she jealous? _Oh gosh…_ She was.

 _Stop right there, Rapunzel. You're here to help Jack, don't make this all about yourself and start jumping into conclusions. Just because it was a girl, didn't mean it was a girlfriend._ Though that wasn't enough, curiosity got the better of her "Who is she?"

Jack stayed quite for a long while. That almost confirmed her fears but then he spoke up and completely took her by surprise "My little sister."

Rapunzel couldn't believe the relief that washed over her. Now she felt a little silly for thinking and feeling that way in the first place; maybe even a little embarrassed.

The little girl's face blinked into Rapunzel's mind. That brought her back to the rumors about him. _Were they true? Did he actually murder his own sister in cold blood?_ But looking at his sorrowful face she doubted it. So what happened? Where was his sister? Or his parents… Why did he live with his uncle? So many questions filled her mind. She didn't even know where to begin asking him. Would he even answer them? She realized that she wanted to know everything about him. Everything about the smiling happy brunette boy she saw in the photograph in his room "What…" She cleared her throat; trying to think of the right thing to ask "What happened to her?"

The answer wasn't given to her immediately. But when it came she wasn't prepared for it. He was so blunt with it, not even attempting to hide the disgust in his voice. "I shot her…"

"Y-you-" Rapunzel stuttered. She was speechless. So they were true after all… He did kill his sister… but why? It didn't make a nick of sense. She was so sure Jack wasn't a bad guy. She couldn't take her eyes of him. He turned and met her sight and she knew right then, that things weren't as they seemed. She could see it in his eyes. It's not that he was lying… It's just that there was more to it than that. A lot more.

"She was in a coma for six months because of me," He continued; analyzing Rapunzel's gaze… He hated people judging him; hated how they assumed they knew the truth. They always fabricated lies that were most easy to go with, to suit the situation. But not her… It's been years since he told anyone about it. There was no one to tell it to; not that he would if there were but still. But with Rapunzel it was different. He couldn't fathom why he could open up to her so easily. He barely knew her… But there was something about her; something that he couldn't quite put his finger on.

He was sure she knew the many floating rumors about him.

Oh, he knew all about the rumors too but frankly he couldn't give a damn. Some were fake and some were pretty close to the truth. But honestly, he didn't care what people thought about him or what they spoke about him. Maybe he did at first but not now.

He was in a _dark_ place back then, hanging out with the wrong kind of people; people like _Pitch Black_ , doing things that he wasn't proud of… but at that point, none of it mattered. _What's one more bad deed on a long list of bad deeds, right?_

Hell, he'd spent more time at the police station than he did at home. He was a little glad for the rumors too though; it kept people away from him. They left him alone and that's exactly what he wanted them to do.

But with Rapunzel it was different. He wanted to be around her and spend time with her. He wanted Rapunzel to know the truth. Suddenly someone else's opinion mattered to him. He didn't want her to think he was some kind of a monster so he decided to tell her about _his past…_

 _His mistake…_

 _His regret…  
_

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Phew, I feel so happy about updating. Feels like I just had a dose of happy juice! ^o^ I hope you guys liked the chapter. We're finally gonna find out more about Jack's past and why he is the way he is.

Time for the most important part!

 **SHOUT OUTS!**

 **RedLegoManiac:** Lol, well, there are ships but no shipping wars in the story if that's what you're asking. As for what the ships are, you'll find it very obvious as you read more. (::)(::)(::)  
 **LoneWolfPunk101:** *gasp* COOKIES! Thank you! Haha, and I donno a thing about concussions either. XD Never had one and never seen any of the people I know have one either. Just go with the flow on this one. But… maybe you sleep it off? Sounds about right. (P.S Never allow me to treat anybody, I'd probably end up killing them) (::)(::)  
 **OneWhoDreamz:** Hey there! XD I'm actually feeling a little proud that you haven't been able to predict it yet although I'm sure you will in the future. Well… I've actually decided to reveal Jack's past… WITH A BANG (*wink wink, see what I did there?) And I guess their 'breather' will never truly be a 'breather' as long as a freaking Zombie Apocalypse is going on, huh? Poor guys, why must I torture them so. Yes, suspense will do that to you XD And I'll accept anything at this point. *grabs plushy cat beanie from you* YAY! MORE COOKIES! I'm so happy! *hums in delight* And yes, that's Jim Hawkins. Like I've mentioned before. I hate creating OCs. The only OC in this story is David. Here are some cookies from my side. (::)(::)(::)  
 **Guest:** I guess? But this fanfic will mainly be focusing on the story and action rather than the shipping wars. XD (::)  
 **Infrared-Ultraviolet:** C7- XD first off, thank you for emotionally investing in this story. I know it's really hard to do. Second off, no need to worry but I will take you guys for one hell of a roller coaster ride so be prepared. Just sayin. And IKR! Teenagers, ugh! No priorities what so ever… Thank god I'm no longer a teenager… ^_^… O.O Wait! Also, lol, totally Jack and Hiccup are the best. The whole gang tbh. I mean, the dynamic between the four are just too darn brilliant. It makes me wonder why it's not an official movie or show yet. Methinks you'll have to wait a little longer to find that 'David smoking' part out. Yes, please do. Alert me if I make any more of such mistakes in the future. But don't take too long cause of the stupid site rules of auto deleting saved docs. (::)(::)  
 _ **C8-**_ Thank you! It's all gonna start adding up soon. Also, after you pointed the 'vail' thing out I couldn't stop giggling either XD OMG. And YAY! I'm so happy that your willing to give it a go. And also, CHALLENGE ACCEPTED! But like I've said, this fanfic won't be concentrating on the ships too much. Consider it an added bonus if you will. (::)(::)  
 _ **C9-**_ IKR. Poor Merida, can't find a decent arrow selling merchant online and must resort to websites like eBay. XD And yeah, I'm super glad you're enjoying the little crumbs I keep sprinkling here and there. And for what it's worth, I'd be pretty useless in a zombie apocalypse too. I'd probably be one of those characters who dies first (for very obvious reasons.) And about the Toothless having a Hiccup GPS on him, you have no idea XD (::)(::)  
 _ **C10-** _ YES HE IS! It's Jack! And thank you! I think the relationship between Jack and Merida is really unique and just too much fun to write. Pfft, tell me about it. Crows are very mean indeed. One of my friends got pecked by one once. XD It was a hilarious story. (::)(::)  
 _ **C11-**_ Hehe *blushes* Oh, stop it you. *giggles* Thank you! I do put in a lot of effort and I still have loads of things planned. Just stick with me. (::)(::)  
 _ **C12-**_ HAHA XD NO! NO HIJACK PLEASE! XD We're Jackunzel shipper *shakes you violently* YOU MUST'NT LET IT SINK! GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF WOMAN! *slaps you too* And IKR XD Protective Zombie dad… Never thought I'd get to write that in my lifetime. XD And yes, resourcefulness is all their middle names at this point. Thank you for individually responding to each chapter. It really lets me know what your thoughts are for each one and I LOVE READING them! So some cookies for each review. It's only fair. (::)(::)  
 **AvaniAcrux:** D'awwww! Thanks for the effort! (And stupid internet around the world tbh) And oh gosh, extremely sorry for making you wait this long. Jeez! I feel bad! AND IKR! Treasure planet's is one of the most amazing 2D movies out there and why is it so damn underrated!? *flips table* A cookie to calm us down. (::)  
 **KawaiiAriel:** Lol, oh yeah! Now that you mention it…. XD (::)  
 **RandomnessOreo:** Awww. (::)Thank you! (But sadly) There aren't that many big four zombie fanfics out there. T-T And the ones that are there haven't been finished or updated in a long long time and I'm sobbing.  
 **ChaosKitten16:** Thank you for the yummy cookie! *nom nom nom* And also thank you for giving me the push. I don't think I would've updated any time soon if you hadn't. Well, my schedule was a chapter every two weeks. But as you can see, it's all messed up now. (::)

And that's it from me for now. See you guys next time!  
Love you!  
Please leave me a review! It helps me during the darker times.  
BYE GUYS! Have a good week ahead!


	18. Chapter 17

**A.N:** Alrighty! Here you lovelies go! The chapter that you've all been waiting for. A chapter that's gonna answer some BIG time questions that you've got scurrying around in those sadistic minds of yours. (I donno, I'm feeling especially evil today... and strangely generous too... I'm so weird I donno)

 **THANK YOU TO ALL THOSE WHO HAVE FAVORITED AND FOLLOWED THIS STORY! AND THANK YOU FOR THE CONTINUED SUPPORT!**

Without future delay. HERE YOU AWESOME SAUCES GO! ^o^

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 **Chapter 17: My Past is Forever Mine And Mine Alone**

"Emma, open up,"

Twelve year old Jack stood outside his little sister's baby-pink door, knocking on the rainbow unicorn poster that was stuck on it. Emma was turning seven today and Jack had something very special planned just for the occasion. It was hard pretending not to be excited about it in front of her all day. He wanted it to be a surprise and now, after waiting all evening, the time for some real fun had finally begun.

He knocked again when Emma didn't answer the first time. Sensing that something was wrong Jack slowly turned the knob and peered inside. His smile turned into a frown when he saw his sister sitting by the window and looking up into the evening sky. He opened the door all the way and stepped inside. His sister was sniffing; which meant she had been crying.

 _On her birthday? No way…_ Not as long as he's around. He walked up to her and heard her tiny little voice whisper to him. "Mom and Dad said that they would be here today,"

Jack followed Emma's gaze and saw the full moon; all bright and glorious. He was sure she could see their parents' faces up there. She missed them a lot. Heck, he missed them a lot too… They were almost always away on some business trip leaving their children in the care of a nanny who, quite frankly, was terrible at her job. So Jack ended up taking care of Emma and her needs. He practically raised her. Taught her everything she knew but they still loved and missed their parents. They'd come home as often as they could just to see their children.

Jack was more responsible than any other kid his age, shouldering the burden of taking care of a younger sibling but he didn't mind. He loved spending time with her and making her smile. "Me too… but you should be happy, Ems. Know why?"

"No, why?" She sniffed again, rubbing her sleeve over her big watery eyes.

"Cause' you've got your awesome big brother here for you," Jack said proudly; pointing his thumb at his chest.

That seemed to cheer her up a bit and so he continued. "Get ready and wear the best dress you've got, okay?" He said already making it to the door to allow her to get changed.

"Why?" Emma asked. Her eyes now dry from the tears and filled with eagerness instead.

"Cause' we're going out and making this a birthday you'll never forget," Jack grinned.

"But what about Nana?" Emma asked almost giggling with anticipation. Jack said he was taking her out and they always had fun together; no matter where they were but now he said he was going to make this the best birthday ever; and she didn't doubt him; not even for a second.

"She fell asleep in front of the TV a while back and we both know she won't wake up even if a bulldozer demolishes the building." Jack smirked as he closed the door behind him. The nanny always made them dinner, stuffed it in the refrigerator and then fell asleep in front of the TV until dawn. They used the microwave to heat up the dinner or Jack would just make her something else to eat. Not to brag or anything but he knew how to make a whole variety of dishes; all Emma's favorites. He had to learn it and it took more tries than he was willing to admit but after a lot of trial and errors; a lot of yelling from nanny over the messy kitchen; he finally got it right. Just the way Emma liked it.

His sister was surprisingly fast in getting ready this time. Normally it would've taken her at least twenty minutes to just step out of her room. _Guess the excitement's giving her Flash like powers_ , Jack chuckled. As his sister came skipping down the stairs towards Jack he couldn't help but think how adorable she looked. A pink princess dress decorated with ribbons and flowers of different shades. A pink hairband to keep her chocolate colored fringes out of her eyes. A pink bracelet wrapped around her thin wrist. The only accessory that was in complete contrast with the rest of her outfit was her indigo blue earrings.

"Why are you wearing the blue earrings," Jack asked. Not that he cared but it was just a little odd to see it _not_ matching with any of the other accessories she wore. His sister had a matching set for everything; and when he says everything, he means- _everything._ "Shouldn't you be wearing the pink ones?"

"Nah uh," His sister vigorously shook her head from side to side making Jack raise his eye brows. "These are my favorite!"

"How come?" Jack asked her as he carefully closed the front door behind him and Emma. "I thought pink and orange were your favorite colors."

"They are," Emma said matter-of-factly; jutting her chin out proudly. "But these are my favorite earrings cause' you got them for me."

Jack paused and blinked at the back of his little sisters head as she walked away from him. He hadn't expected that answer from her. He had gotten her those earrings from some street-side handicrafts shop at a very cheap rate almost a year ago. It wasn't for any special occasion or anything; just a little gift. He didn't know it meant that much to Emma. He smiled and skipped a little to catch up to her.

Jack took Emma to the movies. They were playing one of Emma's future most-favorite movies ever- _'Rise of the Guardians'_ and it was a total coincidence and total luck that it got released two days before her birthday. She had been begging to watch it ever since. Right after the first movie rolled its end credits the two siblings slipped out of the first theater and to the second one to watch a different movie. Jack had already bought the tickets for both in advance. The best part was that both the movies were incredible and in 3D! Emma loved 3D.

After the end of the second movie, Jack and Emma came out of the theatre happy and giggling "So did you like the movies?"

"I LOVED IT!" Emma yelled enthusiastically; jumping with energy "Thank you, Jack!" She said as she gave him a big hug.

Jack chuckled and hugged back; _the night's still young, Em. The fun's not over yet_ "Glad to hear it, shrimp." He said as he ruffled his little sister's hair.

"Jaaaack!" She whined; batting his hand away then met his smirking face with a serious, almost sad one. "Do we have to go home now?" She asked sulkily; silently praying to the angels for his answer to be a ' _no_ ' and to her surprise and delight that was exactly what he said.

"Nope… I still have to make this a Birthday to remember, don't I?" Jack smiled as his sister's gloomy mood changed back to energy filled happiness mode. He pulled the remaining wad of cash from his jeans pocket and began counting them.

"Where did you get all that money from?" Emma asked with wonder; leaning in towards her brother using her tippy-toes.

 _Emma was sure smart for someone her age._ "It's a collection of my allowances," Jack said simply; offering no other explanation to her. Even though his parents were away, they kept sending him his monthly allowances promptly. His parents' business just took off to the skies over night and just like that, they were people of high class society; who could afford anything they wanted. But as his parents would always say _'Just because you can, doesn't mean you should'_. His family was a pretty humble one to begin with; they were the kind of people who enjoyed the little things in life. Money wasn't going to change that and Jack; unlike most boys, saved his allowances-just for times like these. _See how it comes in handy?_

"When do I get an allowance?" She asked; crossing her tiny arms over her chest and pouted at him.

"When you're old enough, mini midget," Jack chuckled re-pocketing the cash. He held out his hand for Emma to take so they could go to their next destination. He didn't want to lose her in the mass of people who were walking around. The little girl took it even though she was angry at him for calling her small.

"But I am old enough, I'm seven now!" Emma reasoned. Seven is a very big number after all. _Almost an adult!_ "I'm a grown up now, Jack."

"Whatever you say, kiddo," Jack laughed as Emma stuck out her tongue at him. "Don't you wanna know where we're going next?" He asked, trying to distract his one-track mind little sister. But he didn't have to try too hard this time around; it was a piece of cake for him.

"Oh yeah!" Emma giggled; she had almost forgotten about that. "Where _are_ we going?"

"To the fanciest ice cream shop in the city!" Jack said raising one of his arms up to the sky; trying to exaggerate his point. Sky scrapers surrounded them; they did live in a pretty big city, after all.

Emma's eyes sparkled with excitement. She could barely contain herself anymore. She hugged her brother's hand tightly with affection as she skipped beside him. They soon made it to the ice cream place.

 ** _'_** ** _Cassel's Dreamy Creamy Ice Cream Parlor'_**

Jack and Emma pushed open the heavy double doors and stepped inside. This place was one of the most famous and most visited Ice-cream parlors ever. Jack himself had only been here once; with his parents when Emma could barely walk or talk. His parents had brought him here on his birthday and today he was doing the same for his sister. The place was huge! It was the biggest out of all the other ice-cream shops. The two make their way over to a table and sat down facing each other. Within a few minutes a waitress shows up to take their order.

"Where are your parents, sweetie?" The young waitress asks them.

"They're around…" Jack lied effortlessly; smiling up at her. He's seen the things that happen to kids in the news on TV, especially in cities. It doesn't pay to be careless. Plus, his parents have taught him about stranger danger before. This place did seem pretty safe and the waitress seemed okay but you can just never be too careful; not when you have a younger sibling to be responsible for.

They ordered the biggest ice cream they could afford and the waitress smiled sweetly at them before leaving.

Emma was playing quietly with her wrist band and Jack noticed that. Whenever his sister did something like that, there was something on her mind. "What's wrong?"

"I still wish mom n' dad were here…" She told him; not stopping her fingers from fidgeting with the pretty band.

Jack almost sighed. "You know… I shouldn't be telling you this. But I heard them say that they were going to get you a puppy as a present this year."

"Really?!" Emma's face lit up like a Christmas tree. Her emotions were like a switch. Jack wondered how she did that.

"Yeah… really."

"Really, really?"

"Yes…"

"Really, really, reall-"

"Emma!"

And she giggles uncontrollably at that.

Jack chuckles at his sister who was literally hopping with joy. "Enjoying your day so far?"

Emma nods enthusiastically. Her body language screamed eagerness and excitement. "What happens after ice-cream, Jack?"

Jack chuckles. Leave it to his sister to figure out the night wasn't over still and he didn't disappoint her. "After this, I'm taking you to Firefly Fields!" He said with equal excitement. It was that time of the year where fireflies came out of their hiding places and showed off their beautiful glowy colors. Emma loved the lightning bugs more than anything; probably even more than Rainbow Ponies themselves. Its rarity made them more special.

Emma's squeal almost made every head turn to them. She barely contained her elation; she clapped and giggled uncontrollably. She was so excited that it almost looked hyper. "Do you think there will be pink ones this time?" She stopped and asked him with wide eyes; as though her _wise_ big brother knew the answer to anything and everything.

Jack doubted it. Of all the trips they've made to _Firefly Fields_ not once have they seen them in any other color other than yellow. Jack's heard of bright red ones and dark blue ones but never pink ones. He didn't want to disappoint her and make her sad so he just went with the safest answer. "We'll find out, squirt… "

The waitress finally came back with their ice cream and set in on their table. Emma began digging in the next second. Jack chuckled as he grabbed his own spoon. "Ems, wait for me!" He dared Emma a race to see who would finish first. She almost got a brain freeze because of it. He laughed. "Better than a birthday cake, huh Em?"

"Yes!" Emma giggled.

And as soon as they finished their delicious frozen treat, Jack paid for the ice cream and they left for the next destination on their list. Firefly Fields was pretty close to their home so they didn't have to worry about returning home too late. It was late at night as it was. The bright side was that because of the time; the place wouldn't be crowded with people like it usually is. Maybe there would be lovers sitting or walking around admiring the floating lights but other than them, Jack was sure there would be no one else.

They made it to the location and instantly spotted the fireflies glimmering about. Emma tugged at Jack's hand, pointing at the lightning bugs with uncontainable excitement as if she's seeing this wonder for the first time. She ran after the shimmering bugs trying to catch them; all the while giggling and laughing uncontrollably. She yelled for Jack to help and he did. They spent hours trying to catch the glowing insects and Emma caught one finally. "Yay! Look Jack! I did it! I caught one!" She yelled and jumped in exhilaration.

"Cool!" Jack chuckled with equal enthusiasm. "You gonna keep it?"

Jack watched his beloved little sister think for a moment before shaking her head and releasing the little lightning bug. He raised an eye bow at her in question.

"I want Glowie to be free,"

"Glowie?"

"Uh huh, my pet firefly," She said as-a-matter-of-factly. Emma then shifted her gaze to the group of _glow-in-the-dark_ insects and waved her arms in the air. "Bye-bye, Glowie!"

Jack smiled lovingly at his baby sister; who had the biggest heart in the world. It was one of the best things about her. He was so proud of her, and was proud to be her big brother. Jack made a promise to himself that he would protect that innocence no matter what the cost. He would be her guardian for as long as he lived. He saw Emma swirl around suddenly and grin at him.

"What?" He asked her in confusion.

"You're the Bestest Big Brother EVER, Jack!" she hollered in a loud high pitched voice, then fumbled with her right ear until she got the accessory out and innocently handed it to Jack.

"What are you doing?" He asked with an amused look on his face.

"I want you to have it," She replied; motioning him to take the blue stud from her.

"But only girls wear earrings, Emma." Jack laughed. "You keep it. I got them for you, remember?"

"But I want _you_ to have it!" His sister insisted and whined stubbornly almost thrusting the earring in his face.

"Okay! Okay, I'll take it…" Jack said with an amused smile. The way the kid's mind worked was still a mystery to him. _Rule number 1. Kid's logic- Never ever question them._ He truly didn't see the point of taking the earring from her. He's the one who got her those in the first place. Emma sometimes does the strangest things; her mind was sometimes a compete puzzle. He took the earring from her and stuffed it in his left jeans pocket. "Happy?"

She smiled like the cat from the _'Alice in Wonderland'_ story and continued to hop around the firefly garden.

It was regrettably, the time to leave and the exhausted siblings made their way back home reluctantly. They wished they could've stayed in the park for a bit longer but they had to get back home soon.

Once they reached home, Jack skipped up the small porch and put his hand into his pocket to retrieve the house key. He pulled it out and thrust it into the lock of the front door but was completely taken by surprise when he found that the door was already unlocked. _What the-_ Hadn't he locked the door when they left? He was sure he did. He turned the knob and opened the door ever so slowly and peered inside.

Jack heard muffled sounds coming from inside. _Nanny mostly… but also, someone else?_ He stepped back and turned to his sleepy sister who was looking at him with confusion. He pressed an index finger to his lips and made a 'Shhh…' sound and motioned her to follow him.

Jack crept into the hall corridor, with Emma mimicking his every move. He crouched down near the entrance of the living room and peered inside stealthily. Two sets of eyes widened at what they saw. The nanny was tied to a chair with rope; robbing her of any movement and a piece of duct tape stuck on her lips; preventing her from speaking or yelling for help.

A hefty built man wearing black clothes from top to toe was pointing a handgun at her and was cursing words that Jack thought he and his sister was better off not hearing. Jack quickly clamped a hand on Emma's mouth just as she gasped. His own heart rate was increasing by the second. Thankfully he hadn't heard them. Jack saw him walk over to their TV cabinet and rummage around through the shelves.

 _He's looking for something_ Jack thought as he took his sister's hand in his. He had to call 911. His parents always told him to call them in case of a serous emergency. _Well, this was a serous emergency alright_. One of the phones was in the living room but the thug was in there so that was out of the question. They had another phone in the kitchen so that's where he needed to go but first he had to get Emma to safety. He squeezed her hand and began to sneak through the house.

Jack led his trembling sibling up the stairs and into her room without making a single sound. They were being as quiet as mice. He closed the baby-pink door behind him and whispered for Emma to hide under the bed. She did as she was told, but kept looking at him with her fear filled eyes. "Jack, I'm scared." Her voice quivered.

"I know, I know… but it's gonna be alright," Jack hastily tried to think of something to calm his sister down. "Uh…we're gonna have a little fun instead?"

"No we're not!"

"Would I trick you?"

"Yes! You always play tricks," Emma whined.

Jack couldn't help but chuckle a little. "Well, N-not this time. I promise… I promise, you're gonna be, you're gonna be fine. You have to _believe_ in me."

Emma looked at him with wide trusting eyes. Of course she believed in him. He was her big brother, how could she not.

"Uh… you wanna play a game?" He whispered. "We're gonna play side and seek, like we play every day. It's easy. All you gotta do is hide here till I come find you."

Emma shakily nodded and watched Jack leave her room, closing the door softly behind him; leaving her all alone with her fears.

Jack snuck back downstairs and into the kitchen. He picked up the phone hanging on the wall and dialed the numbers 9-1-1 on it. But before he could talk to the lady on the other end, the phone snatched away from him roughly.

"Bad move, kid." The man sneered after slamming the handset back on the receiver in anger. "Shouldn't have done that."

Jack's initial shock wore off and he glared bravely at the man before him. This was not the same guy he had seen in the living room earlier. This guy was different. He was shorter and a little thinner. But he was still very well built. He too wore black from top to toe with only his face showing. "Who are you and what do you want from us?"

"None of your business, brat!" The guy growled, closing his fist around the front of Jack's shirt and harshly dragging him to the corner of the kitchen. He made the boy sit there, still keeping the gun trained on him and then yelled for his partner. "Roy, hurry the hell up man! The kid called the cops. We gotta get moving before they show up."

Just then, Jack heard the shrill cries of his little sister coming from the second floor. "Emma! No!"

"Stay right there, brat!" The man spat, jerking the gun at Jack's face.

The other muscular guy they saw earlier; Roy, showed up in the kitchen with a kicking and screaming Emma held tightly in his arms. "Lookie what I found, Derek."

Emma's eyes caught Jack's and he nodded subtly to her. She understood what to do. She kicked as hard as a seven year old could at Roy's shin and ran over to her brother. The man let her go with a yelp. "Why you little-"

"Forget about them, did you get it?" Derek interrupted him; not willing to waste his precious time on little whiny brats.

"Yeah," Roy answered with a huff, rubbing his hurting shin ."It's all outside the kitchen."

Emma had hurried to Jack's side and snuck close to him. She grabbed onto his shirt with a strong grip and huddled close. Jack wrapped his arms around her tiny frame and whispered for her to keep her head down and close her eyes "It's okay, I gotcha… It'll be alright. As long as I'm around, nothing bad is gonna happen to you. I promise." He whispered into her ear so that the thugs couldn't hear them. All they could do now was pray… pray that they'd make it out of this in one piece.

And as if God heeded their prayers, the sounds of sirens could be heard in a distance; getting closer.

Derek decided that it was time to take their leave… but first, he needed leverage; and by that he means a hostage. _And what better hostage than a little girl?_ He yanked a wailing Emma out of her brother's arms forcefully.

"Emma! No! Let her go!" Jack screamed in fright. He almost lunged at the man who now held a sobbing Emma close to him but stopped abruptly when once again, the gun was pointed directly at his face.

"Sit your butt back down kid, unless you want your brain splattered all over the wall behind you," The man hissed making Emma's cries even louder and more desperate. Jack glared at him with so much intensity for a twelve year old kid that it was astonishing but he obeyed and slowly sat down; keeping his eyes fixed on his little sister. Their eyes met and he gave her a small assuring smile; despite the fear he himself felt _'Its okay, Em. I'm here,_ ' Derek shook Emma "Quiet! Stop crying!" _Yeah, like that's gonna help, you moron._ If anything it only made her cry more.

"Tie the other kid up and meet me outside," He ordered his partner before repositioning his gun so that it was pointing at his little hostage's head. This little girl was their only sure fire way of escape and he was not about to let her go. He began exiting the kitchen. "And remember, I will not hesitate to leave you behind if you take too long."

Jack watched the two leave. Somehow he could feel it in his gut, that if they disappear behind that back door now then he would never see his baby sister again. He couldn't let her go; _he wouldn't!_ He promised her! He could only imagine how frightened Emma must be right now; in the arms of complete strangers threatening to kill her.

Jack glared as Roy came near him with a rope hung loosely in his hand and an evil grin plastered on his face. When the man came close enough, Jack shot up with lightning speed and kicked him right in the jewels with every ounce of strength he could muster.

Roy gave out a loud painful cry before going down; letting go of his gun in the process.

Jack grabbed the weapon from the floor without a second thought and ran outside the kitchen after the other thug.

He saw that Derek was almost at the back door; footsteps away from his freedom. A bulky black bag hung over his shoulder. He also held a struggling Emma. "Let her go!" He yelled as loud as he could at the man, who spun around in shock. The sirens were getting louder.

Jack pointed the gun at the blonde man. His pupils had blown up so wide that you could barely see the blue in them anymore. Adrenaline was pumping through his views; he could hear his own heartbeat and his breathing was elaborate. Only one thought was running through his mind; over and over again, like a broken record- _Save Emma, Save Emma, Save Emma!_

"Whoa kid! Put the gun down!" The man holding the little girl said. He could see how worked up the boy was; the smallest of things could set him off. The worst part was the boy knew nothing about guns so he could just shoot and accidentally kill him and this could become a twisted version of some accidental homicide.

 _Damn it!_ This was supposed to be a simple in n' out job. He hadn't expected it to get this messy. He would have to tread carefully from now on. No matter what the situation; he was still just a lousy little brat- and little brats, he could handle.

"Let my sister go first!" Jack yelled back; keeping a tight grip on the gun with both his hands pointing it straight in front of him.

The thug crouched down so that could use the little girl as a sort of shield. To someone who was trained at firearms it would've been easy to disarm him but he was sure the kid had absolutely no experience with it whatsoever. The boy was even holding the gun wrong. "I don't think so, kid. See, your sister here is my safe ticket outta this place."

"No! Let her go!" Jack yelled desperately. "Take me with you instead! Leave her alone! Please!"

"Aww," The man mocked him. "Now if that's not the most noble thing I ever saw, I donno what is."

"So you'll let her go?" Jack asked hopefully; completely missing Derek's sarcasm.

"Sorry but no," He said with a sober look on his face. This time, instead of pointing the gun at the boy he pointed it at the girl's head. "Now, put the gun down and go sit over there before I blow your beloved sister's brai-"

"No!"

 **Bang!**

Everything stood frozen for a couple of seconds… until Jack crashed to his knees.

He saw red beginning to slowly seep through Emma's beautiful pink clothes near her belly. More than anything he saw the shock and pain on his baby sister's face… He saw _fear…_

 _Blood! It was blood! His sister's blood!_

The man who held the little girl let her go, hesitantly, not sure what the heck just happened. He was just as shocked as Jack was and after two staggering steps the little girl fell to the ground; a pool of blood forming around her, staining the carpet floor with crimson red.

Jack just sat there hyperventilating; staring at his sister's lifeless body. The pressure he felt on his chest was crushing his heart; the insane mental stress for a twelve year old boy to handle was too much. He felt like he was going to spontaneously explode at any moment; like every sorrowful emotion a human could feel had coursed through him; making him feel sick to his stomach. But more than anything it was the sadness and guilt he felt that drove him to his knees.

"Holy shit!" The shocked man finally said; rushing out of the door behind him; still carrying the black bag with him.

Jack couldn't sit there anymore. He felt sick; he was going to throw up. He couldn't stand to see Emma lying on the floor like that anymore; unmoving.

 _What have I done!? What have I done!? Oh god! Emma!_

He rushed into the nearby bathroom and emptied his stomach's contents. He threw the handgun that he still carried, into the trashcan with disgust; as if his hand burned just by touching it.

Adrenaline had completely faded from the boy's body and exhaustion flooded in. Jack breathed heavily; every ounce of energy he had left was deserting him rapidly. His eyes rolled to the back of his head and he fell unconscious on the tiled floor with only one coherent though running in his traumatized mind.

 _'_ _I killed my little sister…'  
_

* * *

Yup... Uh... Yeah... So that happened.

God, who wouldn't be traumatized after that, amma right? Our poor Jackaboy. I'm so sorry for all the tortures I'm putting you through my bb! (Not to mention the fact that we don't even know if its gonna end well or badly for him or not... I mean, this is a ZOMBIE story after all) *Sigh* Only time will tell I suppose.

OKAY! NOW MOVING ON TO MY FAVORITE PART!

 **SHOUTOUTS!**

 **ChaosKitten16** **:** Lol, well you certainly should! Their thoughts and emotions are the BEST part. I mean, yeah, the story matters too. But don't you think the 'WHY' matters too? Why a certain characters behave the way they do? Or make the decisions they make? It's so fun and intriguing! And the mystery between Jack and Emma. Well, now you know. *hesitates* TA-DA…? Haha, I TOTALLY AGREE! Someone should put them in a room together for days on end to see who lasts! XD That'll be hilarious to read/watch for sure. And about Ruffnut and Tuffnut… We shall see. *wink wink* (::)(::)(::)  
 **ivylene.h** : You read through Chapters 12 to 17 that fast? Holy cow woman! Your fast XD And IKR! (By opening up to someone he's also opening up to you guys out there, now that takes heart, don't you think? XD Lol) Thank you for the kind words! It makes me so happy! (::)(::)  
 **Guest** : The wait is over my friend. Here you go! (::)  
 **OneWhoDreamz** **:** Oh no, it didn't! I mean, I always look forward to your reviews and I always appreciate the hell (*wink*) out of it. But I never want to you to feel compelled into reviewing my chapters just to avoid hurting me. It's completely okay, Dreamer. Lol, quite so! I'm happy you felt so 'Floaty' reading it. Hahaha… You ever wonder if Jack could be secretly psychic? Lol, let me save you the trouble. Yup, she sees her parents on the moon (FUN FACT: It's a story that I was told when I was young… thought I'd incorporate it into this story… makes it more special, ya know?) Also, I like how you pick up on the little things. It always leaves me smiling my face off… but as usual I can't say anything about it without leaving behind crumbs of spoilers. So I shall refrain myself also. :-P Your absolutely right! Its been too calm too much lately… LETS BEGIN THE CHAOS ONCE MORE! What was that? "Stop" you say? "Don't do it!" you say? HAHAHA! TOO FREAKING LATE! XD I just enjoy being Evil too much. XD Lol, Poorly, indeed my friend. But worry not. It's a good thing. And now I can. Since the cat's out of the bag n all. AND OF COURSE I WANT TO HEAR YOUR THEORIES! WHY MUST YOU HAVE ME REPEAT MYSELF! (It's like you already know what I'm about it say! SO. Do. Not. Hesitate!) Let those creative juices flow! (Also, p.s Unlike BTIA, I have this story completely thought out from start to finish. So unless there's gonna be some brain melting ideas, I will not to diverging from my plan. So don't be afraid and DON'T YOU DARE HOLD BACK!) Wow, just released how long this review is. (and p.p.s MY PUNS WILL NEVER GROW OLD) *evil laughter echoes in the background* (::) You only get one cookie for reviewing so late… Lol, I'm kidding. Here's more (::)(::)(::)(::)(::)

Once again! Thank you for all the support everyone! It means a lot!

Until next time!  
Take care!  
Byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!


	19. Chapter 18

**A.N:** Sorry for the long wait, you guys. I hope your all still with me! Here is the next chapter!

 **Thank you to those who've followed and Favorited and reviewed! YOU GUYS ROCK!**

 **ENJOY!**

* * *

 **Chapter 18: Dinner Time, Zombies. Come and Get It!**

"I had no idea… " Rapunzel whispered in astonishment. What he told her was so unbelievable and so unreal. She couldn't imagine going through what he did. _And his sister…_ "It wasn't your fault you know…" She says placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.

He snorts and shrugs off her hand. "Yeah, right…"

"Jack… It really wasn't your fault. You shouldn't blame yourself. I'm sure your sister doesn't,"

"And how would you know that, huh?" Jack snapped at her. "You've never met her; you've never talked to her. Hell, they wouldn't even let me talk to her. I mean, for all you know, she could hate my guts."

"And for _you_ know, she might not. From what you told me about Emma, that doesn't sound like something she would do…" Rapunzel still maintained her calm tone even though Jack's was rising. "She's your little sister. She could never hate you-"

She stopped when he gave her a non-humorous dry chuckle. "You know, if it wasn't for David, I wouldn't even have known if she'd waken up from her coma." He said as he rubbed his face with his hands. In the first few months after he moved to Burgess he had called his parents constantly but they never responded to any of his calls. He wanted to know about Emma but the only way he could find out anything about her was through his uncle.

Sure, after a year or so, everything was vice versa, his parents were the ones calling him constantly and he was the one who never bothered to pick up the phone. He didn't even care to listen to the voice messages they left him. He felt after everything that happened, it just wasn't worth the effort anymore. He was so mad at his parents back then. _He still is…_

"What happened?" Rapunzel asked slowly and quietly; almost tentatively.

"You mean, after I shot my sister?" He asked apathetically; his jaws locked and his stone cold mask back on.

Rapunzel nodded ever so slightly; almost not nodding at all.

"I woke up at the hospital alone," Jack continued; turning his gaze away from her "I tried looking for Emma but I couldn't see her anywhere. I started yelling for her and a nurse came in and calmed me down and told me that my sister's having the best people looking after her. Of course I wasn't paying any attention to anything she said after that. All I wanted was to see my sister and make sure she was okay…"

"What happened to the thugs?"

Jack shrugged indifferently.

"You don't know?"

"Not for sure… I was too focused on Emma to bother with anything else." He didn't even know why they broke into his house or what they took in the black bag. He didn't care. All he cared about was his sister.

"Right…"

"I kept the gun with me. Couldn't get rid of it no matter how hard I tried. I knew it was back home in the trashcan where I threw it. I even brought it with me to Burgess… Jeez, how pathetic is that," Jack said with a dry chuckle. Deep down though, he knew why he kept it. He knew why he couldn't throw it away. It was because the gun became a constant reminder of his failure. The gun kept him grounded. It kept him from going completely insane. "Even when the cops came to question me about the incident I said I didn't anything; said I couldn't remember. No one would think of searching a traumatized kid for a weapon, would they?"

He looked at her for a split second and answered her unasked question "No, they didn't know I was the one who shot her, so they had no reason to suspect me. But I wanted so badly to tell them it was me, but…but I couldn't."

"You were just a little kid, and you were scared… " Rapunzel told him. But he wasn't listening to her.

"Anyway, they ran some tests on me and gave me the _'thumbs up'_ and I sat in the waiting room for hours while Emma was behind those ER doors fighting for her life," Jack chocked and a single tear made its way down his pale cheek. "Th-they said they lost her for a while on the table… I just- I donno what I would've done if-if …"

"It's okay, Jack. She came back… for you…" Rapunzel said as she rubbed circles over his back; trying to get him to calm down. He didn't shrug her hand off this time. He almost welcomed the comforting touch. She could see that this flashback was taking a toll on the poor guy. "You can stop if you want…"

"It's okay," Jack quickly recovered; brushing the stray tear away; his mask back up again. "M-my parents showed up while Emma was being moved to the ICU for further observation. It was almost dawn and all they would tell me was that she was stable. As soon as mom and dad saw me, they hugged me and didn't let go for longest time."

 _Little did I know that, that was the last time I was ever getting one of those…_

"…I told them what I did, the truth," Jack scoffed. "I'll never forget the look on their faces. But I just knew they hated me, right then. How could they not after what I did?"

He initially wanted nothing to do with them… _but really?_ All he really wanted was for them to love him again. He wished they'd hug him, just like they did back at the hospital. In his heart he knew though, that it was never going to happen again.

"Jack, I'm sure your par-" Rapunzel started but he didn't even let her finish. He didn't want to listen to her. He refused to listen.

"I didn't know Emma was in a coma at the time, I just thought that she was asleep, you know, recovering. I stayed by her side waiting for her to wake up so I could apologize to her…" _Almost wishing and begging for her to wake up,_ "But she never did."

"I spent every minute I had with her… " Jack whispered. "But then my parents sent me away… I mean I understand why they did it... Who would want to have a killer hanging around their child anyway, right?" _But it still hurt like hell…_

"Jack, it was an accident, I'm sure your parents had a better reason for doing what they did. I'm not trying to justify their action or anything, I'm just saying… "

"It doesn't matter, I still did it." Jack closed his eyes, took a deep breath and opened them again. "Anyways, after that, I moved to Burgess to live with my uncle… but he's more like a big brother to me than anything," Jack said with a light-hearted chuckle. Memories he'd spent with David replayed in his mind, followed by the familiar pain in his chest.

He never talked about stuff like this to anyone. It felt good to tell someone; someone who wouldn't judge you for who you are or the things you did. He didn't want to hear anything she said- too afraid that even the smallest of words would make him break down right there.

"While I was here, I started to get in trouble and people began to talk… It started with a little fight. A classmate made a sick joke about my family and I just _lost it_. I kept punching him till my knuckles broke… along with his face. He ended having to go to the hospital… after that, I…" Jack sighed and dropped his eyes shamefully to the ground. "Well, you know…"

"Yeah… " Rapunzel said. _She did know._ At last she could make a pretty good guess- He got mixed up with the shadiest people in town, who made him do less than good things for their own profit and he did them because it was the only escape he could find. He stole, robbed, and probably even killed for them _but…_ "But none of the rumors are true, are they?"

"Most aren't and others were just exaggerated but a few of 'em are true," Jack confirmed. "But honestly, I-… I was trying to justify the rumors by doing exactly that. Drifting in and out of the Juvie had become almost like a routine for me."

She nodded silently. She hoped _or rather wished_ that the rumors about him killing people weren't true. The story where he shot his sister was twisted into some evil sounding nightmare that made Jack seem like the bad guy; where in reality, he was just as much a victim as his sister was.

Jack's eyes went back to his gun, thumb brushing over it. "You know, I've memorized every inch of this gun. A Colt 1911 A1 .45 caliber… I never thought I could hate something so much in my life. But I couldn't find it in me to let it go either… Seriously? How messed up is that…"

"It's understandable…" Rapunzel said with a soft smile, searching out Jack's eyes with her own, but shamefully Jack couldn't meet her gaze.

He turned away and closed his eyes in disgust at the killing instrument in his hand. "But this gun?" _This single stupid object…_ "Ruined my life. I despise it more than anything,"

Rapunzel was quiet for a moment. She looked at him a little nervously. "Don't take this the wrong way… but I don't."

Jack snapped his head around to see her. He looked at her with confusing and betrayal evident on his face. After everything he told her. _She couldn't be serious, could she?_

"What?"

"Well… in a way, if it wasn't for that gun… we would've never met," She chuckles. "I probably would've ended up dead in those woods somewhere… I'm just really happy I met you. If there's one person I would want by my side during a… Zombie Apocalypse, I'll want it to be you."

Jack stares at her right in the eye, trying to process what she had said…

"I'm not saying that whatever happened to you was a good thing, Jack… " she rests her hand on his, the one holding the gun. "All I'm saying is that we can make it better…"

"We…?" He said raising one of his eye brows; almost smirking.

"Huh?" Rapunzel asked suddenly realizing that _'we'_ was something she said involuntarily.

"You said we… just then…"

"I-I did?" Rapunzel suddenly turned bright red and sputtered. "I- Well, what I meant was… It-it was-… Um, we- as in, you and me and Merida and Hiccup and Toothle-"

Jack's lips on hers stopped her from saying anything more. Even though she was completely taken by surprise by his action, she leaned in anyway.

Now, this would've been pretty romantic; under the moon light and all- if their background music had been night crickets and soft music; but instead, they got yells and gunshot sounds.

"What the-" Jack and Rapunzel broke away and were already on their feet and running towards the metal door. They threw it open and carefully descended down the steps. Who knows what could be waiting for them down there.

 ** _(A little while ago)_**

 _Is there a draft in here or what? Why is it so cold?_

Hiccup groaned as his eyes blinked open from the sudden change in temperature. He pulled himself up and slid backwards a little so he could rest his back on the boarded window behind him. The pain in his shoulder didn't hurt so badly now. It only hurt when he moved it; otherwise it was okay. His friends had done a pretty good job of fixing him up; considering the circumstances. He would have died from blood lose alone if it wasn't for Rapunzel. He should thank her for that- speaking of which, _where are all of them anyway?_

A smile played on his face as Toothless came to lick his hand.

"It's alright, bud," Hiccup whispered, he was feeling much better and more aware of his surroundings now. By the looks of it, everyone was asleep; even the people he didn't know. He kept his voice low so he didn't disturb anyone. "I'm feeling a lot better, how's your head?" He rubbed the canine's head lovingly.

Toothless stuffed its nose at Hiccup's chest and the licked his face happily; tail wagging uncontrollable. Hiccup did everything he could not to laugh and pushed his dog back down. "Okay, okay, I get it… shhh… Toothless, hehee, Stop. Down boy-"

"Well, well, well…" He heard a familiar voice say then saw the owner of that voice poking her head out from on top of the adjacent booth to his right. "Look whose awake,"

"Yeah," He smiled at Merida. "How are you doing?"

"Meh?" Merida made a face then threw her hands in the air a little. "Am' not ta one who got shot, ya moron." She was still angry at him for taking the bullet in her place; grateful but angry.

"Point taken," He chuckled and brushed his hand over the new bandage on his shoulder. "But I'm fine now… thanks to you guys."

"Ah, it was nothin'," She dismissed it with another wave of her hand "Dr. Goldie's ta one who did all ta work."

"I'll thank her too then," He said as he saw Merida move from her bench and came to sit by him. "So?"

"So…?"

"Uh… Where are your folks?" He asked nervously; trying to talk about something. He felt a little jittery because of the close proximity she was to him. _Jeez, anything was better than the awkward silences._ You'd think he'd be used to it by now.

"Oh, They'r back in Scotland," She said with a shrug.

"Lucky…" Hiccup deadpanned. He knew Merida was from Scotland based on her accent. "So you're here alone?"

"Nah. I've got ma brothers wit meh," She said. She had been thinking about her brothers during their car journey to the diner. As much as they annoyed and irritated her, they were still her brothers; _her family_. She hoped they were okay and it was better than whatever she and her friends were going through. The road blocks must've been why they hadn't been back in town yet. She was sure her brothers would come for her if they could. Gosh, she really did hope they were okay. "We'r transfer students."

"Oh, that's nice…"

"Yah, I love America!" Merida cheered but still kept her voice low. It wasn't that she didn't love Scotland; she did but she'd already seen everything there. America was something new. Here, there was always something going on. It was so different and Merida liked _different._ "Bu' I think ma older twin brothe's love it more."

"Twins, huh?"

"Yah, Hubert and Harris are their names," Merida said proudly. "Selfish as a seagull, I'll tell ya. They always leave meh alone a' Mrs. Pennyworth's house ta go hav' fun and _explore_." She spoke as she quoted the word ' _explore_ ' in the air with her fingers.

"Bu' not for long…" An evil sadistic grin crept into her face. "Once ma parents shift here, their carefree days are over!"

Hiccup raised his eyebrows at her. They were in the middle of a zombie apocalypse and they might never get to go back home and have a normal life again and here she was, talking like they it was just another day in the coffee shop and assuming that everything would go back to the way they were. Was she really that ignorant? Or just plain hopeful. _Well, she's optimistic. I'll give her that_.

"Enough bout' meh. Wha' bout' yea?"

"Me what?" Hiccup asked in genuine confusion.

Merida huffed in irritation. "Yer family?" She pressed on.

"Oh…" Hiccup realized and began to think of the best way to answer her. "Well, I um… I was-"

 **Bark! Bark! Bark! Bark! Bark! Bark!**

Toothless barked as loudly as a dog could before growling deep in its throat; waking everyone who were asleep in the process. It grabbed at its master's clothes and began tugging him away from the window he was leaning against.

"Toothless? What is it, bud?" Hiccup winced as the movement jarred his shoulder a little but his dog didn't need to say anything more as everyone in the diner heard the loud banging and shudder coming from the different places of the diner. A decayed putrid hand broke through the thin space between the boards and snagged and clawed at Hiccup.

"What the hell is going on!?" Voices from the other side of the diner yelled with a bunch of other cuss words.

The windows and doors rattled. _Within moments._ In fact, it didn't even take five seconds before the zombies broke through the barriers and began rushing in.

 _Holy Shit!_

All the zombies were busting in and they were caught way of guard! In other words…

 _All of them were soooo screwed!  
_

* * *

And so the action begins again. Lol, jeez I dont even know if the before chapters counted as a break. Why do I constantly feel the need to torture my beloved characters. The next chapter is gonna be the most shocking one yet, so stay tuned!

 **SHOUT OUTS!  
**  
 **Amaya-chan07:** No one ever does. XD I was counting on it. With this fanfic, you'll never see anything coming. I'll make sure of it. (::)(::)(::)  
 **ChaosKitten16** **:** Lol, I SHALL NEVER DIE! I mean, I might slip into a coma from time to time, but I will never let the evils of life destroy me or my passion to write. ^^ Also, I hope the next chapter doesn't hurt you by smacking you with the ton of bricks like the last one did. Also, damn! For a small cake, it sure tasted good! Thank you! And for the cookies as well! (I shall save them for later, hehe) (::)(::)  
 **OneWhoDreamz** **:** WOO! I love being able to catch you off guard. It's almost safe to assume it's what I live for these days. IT HAS BECOME THE SOLE PURPOSE OF MY LIFE NOW! Also, for all those observations, some are correct and some are... well, debatable depending on how you look at it. Now, since anything I say is spoiler material I wont be commenting more on it, but you'll get your answers soon enough. (not really, there's still a long way to go with this story. It's nowhere close to ending yet) AND OMGOSH! I do that too! But with PMs! It's so annoying. LIKE BRUH I WAS TYPING NOT CLICKING! STOP SENDING MY PRE-MATURE MSGES! XD Also, Jack was a kid who was only a few years short of being a responsible(not really) teenager- so I think its safe to assume he made some stupid decisions as a kid. In my experience, kids who think they know what they're doing but in reality dont are the ones who are most likely to get into trouble... Poor Jack. Okay, I'm rambling like I'm 30. Jeez XD I'll leave you to your theories now. See ya next chapter (I hope!) (::)(::)(::)  
 **Guest:** Ah! But you see, I have a weird allergic reaction whenever it comes to Elsa for some reason. I think its pretty safe to say Frozen wont be a part of this fanfic. Besides, I wouldn't know how to incorporate her into the fanfic even if I tried. (Plus, I kinda had this story bubbling in my head even before Frozen was announced... so... yeah... better not count on it...) BUT I HOPE THAT'S NOT A DEAL BREAKER FOR YOU! *hugs your ankles* PLEASE DON'T LEAVE! (::)

And with that, ladies and gentlemen, I bid you adieu!

 **Please review!** It's what keeps me alive and safe from slipping into a coma!

Until next time!  
Byeeeee!


	20. Chapter 19

**A.N:** Hi guys! I'M HERE! And the next week...? Say whaaaaat? XD Anyways, I'm not gonna keep blabbering. This chapter is gonna make your damn heart stop so, without any further delay.

 **ENJOY!**

* * *

 **Chapter 19: Mayday! Mayday! Requesting Backup Immediately!**

They hadn't seen this coming.

How could anyone have seen this coming? Who would have guessed that the _inactive-unless provoked_ zombies would suddenly start tearing up the diner? What could've made them go berserk like this? They were pretty passive until just moments ago. What made them turn so violent all of a sudden? What could've possible made them so… _riotous?_

It didn't make any sense.

 _A new zombie behavior, maybe?_

Well, its behavior isn't their main issue right now. They'll have time to figure it out later- if they _survived_ until later, that is.

As the zombies broke open the door, screams and shots were heard. Two zombies dropped dead right at the entrance. But some zombies had already made it inside the diner by then; _Jeez, they were getting faster too._ Merida rushed Hiccup into the kitchen; ignoring his painful cries and winces. She sent him a silent apology. This wasn't the time to be slow and gentle; getting him away from the zombies was top priority. The injuries came later. Hopefully her plan would work. She prayed luck was on her side this time.

Toothless stayed behind, near the table where its master had been resting and pounced at the closet zombie; going straight for its neck. The dog was fighting its own battle now and it was holding his own pretty well against the decayed creatures.

As Merida rushed into the kitchen, pushing Hiccup in front of her she sensed a zombie coming up behind her. She had no weapon on her and virtually kicked herself for forgetting the bow on the bench where she slept. She forcefully pushed Hiccup forward nearly making him trip and swiped a knife off the steel prep table beside her and whirled around to face the zombie. The fact that the cutlet instrument was so close to her was just sheer dumb luck. It was a small knife but it was as good as any at this point. Without any form of hesitation she plunged the knife into the zombie's face; just above its left eye and twice more into its head before yanking it out again. Merida and Hiccup watched as the zombie fell lifelessly near her feet.

 ** _(Outside)_**

"Ariel and I have got the front covered!" Jim yelled to the others, taking aim with his rifle once again and stood behind Ariel; determined to cover her.

Ariel stood at the doorway and it was almost like there was an invisible force field placed on the threshold of the entrance blocking the ravaging creatures. It seemed like a very effective barrier; whatever it was. Ariel breathed a sigh of relief but with shaky hands. She wasn't a hundred percent sure if her plan would work. She had made a gamble with her life but she wasn't all that worried. She knew Jim had her back. They had discussed it earlier. Well, discussed as in, she signed to him and he understood her. They were childhood friends after all.

It was a huge risk to take; one that could have cost her, her life but it didn't. Jim had thought it was a bad idea but Ariel had insisted that they try it. So here they were stopping the zombies with that the most unlikely weapon of all.

A reasonably large group of zombies that were near the doorway were fighting to get inside. This gave Jim the perfect opportunity to shoot all of them off one by one; like shooting fish in a barrel. _They were practically getting in line to be killed._

Things seemed controlled for only a moment before all hell broke loose again. Funny how things could take a 180 degree turn in just a second. The unwavering zombies found another way to get in; _through the windows_. They were breaking it open even with all the boarded up protection against it. To their credit, they chose the right windows, the ones that weren't boarded up as tight. _Great! The zombies were getting smarter now too? Just freaking perfect._ The weakest windows; the ones in the two corners of the diner broke first.

Flynn and Astrid rushed to the left side of the diner to try and stop the onslaught of the dead-creatures. Unfortunately no one could stop the zombies on the right wing of the diner from getting in.

Everything was happing at once. It was just too chaotic for them to keep track. It was literally becoming an _every-man-for-himself_ scenario.

Some zombies who were already inside the diner dashed into the kitchen after Merida and Hiccup. Astrid saw this and dauntlessly went after them; leaving Flynn to take care of the zombies there. She was confident he could. Astrid knew that Merida didn't have any weapon on her and Hiccup was still too weak to put up a fight. She didn't want any living- _human_ casualties in this battle so she rushed in after them. _What was Merida thinking? Cornering herself and her companion like that._ When she opened the door of the kitchen and stepped inside she saw that the two were nowhere in sight. _What the heck? Where did they go?_

What she saw was only the zombies diverting their attention to her. _Oh crap!_ Luckily, there were only two zombies to take off. One was already dead on the floor. She could easily take them on. _No problem_. She brought her handgun up and shot of some rounds. The first one went wide but the next two met their mark and both zombies fell lifelessly to the ground with a loud thud. She didn't know how to handle guns very well either but at such close range; _it was a piece of cake._

"Merida? Hiccup?" She yelled loudly. "You guys in here?"

"In ta freezer!" came a muffled female voice from behind the door of the walk-in cooler.

"Oh," Astrid said stepping closer to the cooler but she had no time to process what Merida said next as her attention shifted to the four zombies that came through the doors of the kitchen; right at her. _This is so not good._

 ** _Meanwhile-_**

Jack and Rapunzel had just heard all the commotion and made it to the base of the stairs when they saw all the chaos that was surrounding them. Bullets were being fired from everywhere. It was literally like a war tone region in there.

"Okay, Punzie. Stick close to me an- Rapunzel?!" Jack realized that the girl he was talking to wasn't next to him anymore but instead was already running towards Flynn. "Rapunzel!" He called out to deaf ears.

Flynn was about to get ambushed by a zombie wearing… _an apron_. It was the zombie-cook he had run over with his car that night. He called out to the golden haired girl but she was determined to help the jock out. Jack was about to go right after her but spun around when he heard a cry for help coming from the kitchen.

"Go help Astrid. She's in trouble!" Jim yelled over all the chaos to Jack. He was still busy fighting a few zombies of his own with Ariel up front.

The snowy haired boy didn't need to be told twice as he ran to the kitchen without any hesitation. He still had his doubts about leaving Rapunzel though. But she wasn't in any _immediate-die-without-your-help_ danger like Astrid was. And if Jack could help save her then that's what he would do; even if it meant leaving Rapunzel unguarded for just a few minutes. _What could possibly happen in a few minutes right?_ Okay…He was better off not answering that question at all.

Jack rammed headlong into the kitchen doors and saw the blonde girl standing on top of one of those metal prep tables the chefs use to cook. She had a long pizza paddle in her hand and was swatting away hard at the ravenous creatures. She was barely holding her own. _Was it just her or did the zombies get faster and stronger after they came back from the dead the second time?_

Jack just then saw Merida opening the cooler's door and stepping out with the knife in hand. "No! Don't! I've got this," He quickly realized what Merida had done and it was damn clever. He could bet on his life that Hiccup was in there with her. The zombies couldn't sense them if they reduced their body temperature. Good thinking on her part. "Don't come out till I say,"

Merida looked conflicted and gave him a _'you're not the boss of me'_ look, so he added a bit more. "Hiccup needs you!" _Yeah, that's right. Punzie and Red-Bush weren't the only ones who knew how to use the_ 'guilt-trip' _card._ "Don't come out till I say it's alright!"

Merida obeyed this time. With a curt nod, she closed the door back up.

Jack wasted no time in picking up the handgun near his feet and firing at the zombies. He guessed Astrid must've dropped the gun sometime during the struggle. He shot at each of them like an expert. He had a lot of practice with guns; _thanks to a certain shady ebony haired man._ Three bullets for three zombies but only two of them dropped dead.

The third zombie was the _un-killable_ one. It was as disgusting as always. Jack wondered how he hadn't recognized it at first, but then again, they were all pretty disgusting so he supposed it was easy to miss. Speaking of the third zombie, now that all the other zombies were dead, it had more room and freedom to grab at Astrid; and that's exactly what it did. The repulsive zombie grabbed Astrid's ankle and pulled with surprising strength. Even after everything that happened to it last night, it was still going strong. Its broken neck was still broken but it had shocking control over its jaws.

Astrid, who wasn't prepared for the sudden yank, fell to the floor, taking down a number of metal utensils with her. They all clattered around her and she yelled out in pain. The pizza paddle slipped out of her hands and fell just out of her reach. But she was too busy withering in agony to notice. When she fell, her leg had hit the hard metal table's edge in the wrong angle, causing the bone to fracture- _Or that's what it felt like to her at least_. Sharp pain shot up from her leg to her whole body; almost paralyzing her.

Jack threw away the useless weapon and hurried to where Astrid had fallen. He quickly picked up the frying pan-which had also fallen amongst other things and swung it at the zombie's face. _Well, it worked well for Rapunzel_. If this was a cartoon show then he was sure it's face would have made an impression on the pan but this wasn't a cartoon show; this was reality. The hit only caused the pan to dent slightly. But that didn't stop Jack; he repeatedly hit the zombie until it fell back away from Astrid near the metal shelf. He stood between the zombie and her.

"You okay?" He threw over his shoulder not taking him eyes off the zombie that was beginning to get up.

"Ask me again after all this _crap_ is over," Astrid grunted a reply; clutching onto her leg for dear life.

Jack didn't allow the zombie enough time to stand up. It seemed a bit dazed and a little out of it. Maybe it was finally losing its life force-or whatever the hell that's keeping it from dying all the time. He skipped over the dead bodies of the other corpses and stood at the side of the shelf. He then used all his strength to pull the heavy metal shelf away from the wall making it fall flat on top of the zombie. The shelf, including all the items in it fell on the indestructible zombie; pinning it to the floor. Only one of its hands, half its torso and its head was peeking out. Despite all the damage it took, the zombie was trying to get up; clawing at the floor with its bloodied gruesome nails.

"Any ideas on how to kill this thing?" Jack said walking over to Astrid to lift her up. Temporarily lowering his guard, _the zombie isn't going anywhere…_

"Actually, there is one," She smirked and accepted the offered help. "No monster can live without a head,"

"Well, except for the Headless Horseman," Jack smirked back. She had the right idea though. Cutting off the zombie's head might just do the trick. It was definitely worth a shot.

"The Headless Horseman's a fictional character," Astrid said as the snowy haired boy helped her lean against one of the tables. "He ain't real."

"Yeah, neither are zombies," Jack tossed over his shoulder as he dug through the kitchen supplies and searched around for what he was looking for. It was seriously hard to find anything in such a messy kitchen. It looked like it got messed up even before they got here. "And yet, here we are." He deadpanned, turning around; arms stretched out slightly by his sides before resuming his task.

"Touché," She chuckled, wincing a little when she bent to re-grab the pizza paddle, _just in case_. You can never be too careful around these things. As someone wise once said- _always expect the unexpected._ For all they knew, the zombie could suddenly Hulk-out and fry them with its laser beam vision.

"Ah-ha!" Jack yelled in triumph, finally finding the chopping instrument he was looking for. He came over to the _'indestructible-robot-zombie-from-the-future'_ and stood over it. In his hand, he held a cleaver; a rectangular knife, which was normally used to slice through meat and bones. Well, Jack was pretty much gonna be using it for the same purpose today anyways. The zombie was trying to grab Jack's ankle but to no avail.

He shrugged and rolled his shoulders to loosen any knotted kinks. _Okay, here goes nothing…_

Jack brought the slicing instrument down on its neck with one swift motion and the zombie's decomposed head rolled away from its body; leaving behind a sickening reddish brown oozy trail.

Astrid tried not to flinch or throw up as the other teen finally killed off the un-killable zombie. She was just glad she didn't have to do it. She would have surely puked if she had. Nonetheless, she was elated that they were finally able to find a way to permanently kill the thing. Hopefully it will stay dead and not come alive without a head. Then it would be the most awkward crossover in the history of crossovers. _Headless Zombieman… Or the Headless Horsezombie?_

 _Okay… Gross…_

"You should probably tell them it's safe to come out," Astrid said, jabbing her thumb behind her at the metal door; using the pizza paddle as a form of crutch.

"Yeah, but you and I both know nothing's ever gonna be _safe_ again," _Boy, didn't that sound depressing._ The gunshot noises had finally stopped and everything seemed pretty quiet. But that wasn't necessarily a good thing. Just to prove his point, he heard Rapunzel's shrill cry.

"Rapunzel!" Jack yelled as he ran out of the kitchen; leaving behind Astrid to inform Merida and Hiccup.

He had a really bad feeling boiling in big gut.

 ** _(A few minutes ago)_**

 _Outside the kitchen-_

She heard Jack call out to her but if she stopped to respond now, it might be too late to save Flynn. She hurried across the diner with surprising agility.

But when she realized that she wasn't going to make it there in time she picked up the metal tissue container from the closest table and hurled it across the diner. Her aim was true as the rectangular tissue holder hit the zombie's head; which jerked left from the impact. "Flynn! Behind you!"

Flynn turned around sharply and noticed the zombie that was trying to sneak up on him and nearly jammed the rifle into its face before pulling the trigger.

But his small victory was short lived as the temporary distraction caused the remaining zombies to barge their way through the broken window. One of the zombies slammed into Flynn with great force; knocking them both to the ground. His rifle skidded away from him and stopped when it hit one of the legs of a nearby stool.

The zombie was about to bite down and Flynn had little time to react. He grabbed one of the splintered wooden planks; the ones that were used to board up the diner and shoved it right into the zombie's wide open mouth. With the zombie's jaws occupied he now had no trouble delivering a strong sucker punch to it, effectively knocking it off him. He then made a dive for his rifle.

Meanwhile, the other two zombies made Rapunzel their target and ran to reach her; arms dangling and heads lolling. The golden haired girl gasped at the sudden assault and climbed over the counter and landed on the other side. She desperately searched for a weapon she could use. _Didn't really think this one through, did you Rapunzel?_ She asked herself in dismay. She turned around and saw ceramic plates neatly placed on the shelves. She quickly swiped them off the shelf and took them into her hands.

Rapunzel threw the heavy plates one by one at the zombies. That seemed to slow them down but it wasn't enough to stop them. One of the zombies made it to Rapunzel's side of the counter and was charging at her. Rapunzel flung herself to the left to avoid it and almost crashed into the different ' _employee of the month_ ' photo frames. She plucked one off the wall and smashed it down on the zombie's head as it came at her again. It fell lifelessly at her feet.

 _That's one zombie down_. The other zombie, the one she threw the plates at rammed at her from behind. She was too late to react and was jammed between the disgusting zombie and the counter. The edge of the counter was digging painfully into her hip. She tried to push the zombie off her but failed. She frantically searched the counter top for something she could use and luckily found a fork sitting idly next to some other table utensils. Her fingers curled around the temporary weapon and she brought her hand up and thrust it at the zombie's face. The sick squishiness that she felt told her that the fork had gone straight into one of its eye sockets and through its milky white eye ball. She felt appalled and was totally grossed out by what she had just done. Never in her life did she once think she would have to do something so repulsive.

The momentary distraction of the zombie provided Rapunzel enough time to hop onto the counter and slide back to the other side. She saw Flynn load the next rounds into his rifle from the corner of her eye. She wanted to call out to him to shoot the zombies but he was already one step ahead of her.

He took aim with his rifle, the zombie with a fork sticking out of its eye socket moaned and growled. Out of pain or hunger she wasn't sure. Flynn fired at the first zombie just as the second one; the one Rapunzel had struck the photo frame with, began to stand up. It didn't even reach its full height before Flynn emptied the remaining round into its nauseating face.

Rapunzel sighed and turned around to say something to Flynn but the words died on her lips as she saw the zombie launch itself at a grinning Flynn from behind. It was the zombie that he had used the splintered wooden plank on. Its mouth was unoccupied now and its jaws were going straight for his neck.

"Flynn!" She yelled in terror and jumped forward to push him out of the way.

She was successful in rescuing him but it came with a dire consequence. The time she took to push Flynn out of the way cost her the time to get away herself. It was too late, there was nothing more she could do but raise her arms to protect herself. The zombie tackled her to the ground and bit down hard on her forearm. Rapunzel shrieked in horror and pain. Its rancid teeth dug deeply into her skin. She tried to dislodge it using her other hand but she couldn't. The zombie held on too tight.

 **BANG!**

The bang reverberated through the dead silence of the diner. Rapunzel saw a bullet hole right between the disfigured zombie's eyes. Its grip on her loosened and she managed to push the dead creature off her.

She breathed heavily and sat on her elbows for a couple of seconds. She turned around to see Jack standing only a few feet away; smoke coming out of the gun he held firmly in front of him. The gun that he despised so much had saved her life.

 _Well… almost saved her life…_

She saw Hiccup, Merida, Astrid, Ariel and Jim come to stand behind Jack, their expressions mirroring the same dreadful anguish in hers.

Dawn had finally greeted them and the warm morning sun light seeped through the windows and illuminated the scene inside the diner but it did nothing to calm the distraught teens who were temporarily residing there.

The rays illuminated everything including the fresh bite marks on her arm…

 _Zombie bit marks…_

* * *

*Le gasp* WHAT. HAVE. I. JUST. DONE?!

Well... From here on out I can promise you there wont be any happy times... Well, not like there has been much of it in the first place. But from here on out I'm going all out. So prepare yourselves.

 **SHOUT OUTS!**

 **ChaosKitten16:** Lol, trust me, my cookie loving friend, immortality is not all its cracked up to be. But if you really must know the secret to my ever-lasting life then I'll tell you... Come closer and lend me your ear, little one... *Whispers* _Its because of you..._ *TA DA* Now you know, All the wonderful encouraging reviews I get keeps me going forever. Well, that and the delicious cookies I get from you guys. Hehe. ^.^ Speaking of cookies, since I got only one review for the last chapter, all the cookies I made goes only to you. (::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::) Here you go. ENJOY! Don't eat them all at once. P.S Thanks for the cake :-P

Aaaaand that's it for now!  
I'll see all you wonderful peeps next week (hopefully) Leave me a **review** cause it feeds my dark twisted soul!  
Bye Bye!  
Take CARE!


	21. Chapter 20

**A.N:** Yo guys! Wassup! Alright alright, I know its been a while. So sorry about the long wait but YOU KNOW WHAT? So many things happened to me these past few weeks. I've finally moved out of my home and I've moved a few states over. And things were super crazy settling in and I've got a job now (My first one) And I'm getting to work on something that I've been a trash for since 2015 think? Basically its been wild and my laptop has been collecting dust in the corner. BUT! I am starting to get the rhythm of things again so I'll be updating better from now on hopefully.

(For those who are concerned. I'm working on my BH6 fanfic as well (The planning part of it at least, so it'll still take some time till I start updating that one. I'm thinking it'll be once this fanfic is finished. So just wanted to let you guys know THAT I HAVE NOT ABANDONED MY BB)

Listen to **"Dance with the Devil" by Breaking Benjamin** … It depicts this Chapter really well (At least in my opinion it does) I listened to it when I wrote this chapter (Maybe that's why I feel that way) BB's one of my favorite bands! They ROCK!

So anyways… back to the story. Enjoy! Cause here goes nothing… *Gulps nervously*

Oh and AGAIN! **THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE FAVORITES AND FOLLOWS! AND REVIEWS! YOU GUYS KEEP MY ALIVE AND MOTIVATED AND I LOVE YOU FOR IT!**

(I'm re-uploading this chapter cause I had to fix some things. Sorry for the inconvenience guys.)

* * *

 **Chapter 20: And Then There Were Four... But For How Long?**

There was no mistaking it.

The marks were as clear as day.

 _Teeth marks… Zombie **Teeth** marks…_

 _NonononoNO! This can't be happening! Not to Rapunzel!_ Jack couldn't take his eyes off the bite mark and Rapunzel couldn't take her eyes off his. She didn't see fear in them at all… Instead she saw… Anger? Guilt? Sorrow? _Regret…?_ She couldn't perceive all the different emotions that ran by his face. But in a flash, they were all gone and were replaced with his stone cold mask once more. Even though his face didn't give anything away she could literally feel the anxiety radiating off him. It was odd… Even though she was the one who got bit; Jack looked like he was the one in pain.

But she wasn't all that far behind in that department. The pain of the bit mark was nothing compared to the pain she felt in her heart. The pain of realizing what was going to happen to her. In a few hours or maybe even minutes, she was going to turn into a zombie. _A disgusting man-eating disfigured zombie._ How was anyone supposed to cope with that?

Jack was the first one to snap out of the _all-around_ shock and despair that everybody was in. He steps forward; shoulders squared; face determined. He bends down and grabs Rapunzel's wrist and hauls her to her feet; a little forceful than necessary. She offers him little to no resistance. He cuts through the others as they wordlessly give way for the two of them.

Jack takes her to one of the bar stools and motions her to sit. She obeys; not once taking her eyes off his face. He seemed so calm…. _Scary calm_ even. It was unnatural for anyone to be like this- _This emotionless_. She saw him grab the fallen first aid kit and walk over to her.

"Merida, help me with this," He said; without even the slightest bit of quiver in the words. When the fiery haired girl didn't make a move to acknowledge him, he called again, this time more commandingly. "Merida!"

Merida tried not to flinch at the sheer hardness in his voice. She looked over at a worried Hiccup before making her way over to the two teens. He gave her the antibiotic and held onto Rapunzel's wrist and elbow to keep her hand steady. Merida wasn't an expert but she didn't need to be one to do this. She gave Rapunzel a sympathetic look before starting. She placed her knife on the counter and silently cleaned the bite wound as the others watched on.

Rapunzel winced as the burning liquid touched the raw wound. Her arm was on fire but she couldn't bring herself to pull away from Jack's hold. His nails were digging into her skin but she didn't care. She turned to look at the snowy haired boy's face again. On the outside he seemed completely impassive but she could tell he wasn't feeling the same on the inside by the way his hands were trembling. She wanted to know what was going on in his mind. She wanted him to say something; _anything!_ It felt like he was shutting her out and for some reason that hurt more than anything else. "Jack…"

"Don't." He snapped; his voice low and grainy. He sounded tired. Not physically maybe but emotionally…? He seemed exhausted. How much does the poor guy have to go through before he finally breaks?

"Jack…" She tried again in a more pleading voice. _Begging him to listen._

"Be quiet, Punzie." _There he goes again._ Calling her by the nickname only he was allowed to say. It was breaking her heart. Tears welled up in her eyes; causing his face to become blurry.

He still doesn't look at her though. He can't. He just couldn't face her; couldn't face the fact that he had failed. Failed at keeping the most important promise he's made in the recent past.

 _To keep her safe and to protect her_.

In a lot of ways, Rapunzel was a lot like Emma. Maybe that's why he could open up to her so easily. Maybe that's why he felt good hanging out with her. Maybe that's why he felt the overwhelming desire to keep her safe. And maybe that's why this hurt more than any physical injury he has ever had combined.

He felt like an invisible hand had reached into his chest and was squeezing the life out of his heart. Even though he looked calm on the outside, he was freaking out on the inside.

"Jack, please…" She whispered. A single tear making its way down her cheek.

That was enough for Jack to finally look at her.

She looks at the bite and then back at him. "It's no use…"

"No…" He shakes his head in denial.

"You have to do it," She nods, doing everything in her power to stay strong for him and not burst into a teary mess. She pulls her arms away and cups his hand in both of hers. "You have to kill me-"

"NO!" Jack suddenly yells. He couldn't contain it anymore. The anger came off him like tsunami tidal waves. This time everyone in the diner flinched; Rapunzel included. He grabbed the first aid kit and hurled it at the closest wall and swiped everything off the counter in rage. He then grabbed a stool and flung it blindly at the opposite side of the counter. It didn't stand a chance and broke on contact. He threw anything he could get his hands on and majority of the faultless objects around him ultimately met their sad demise. After his loud and violent outburst, he gripped the edge of the counter and bowed over; willing himself to calm down. His shoulders were shaking and his breathing was heavy. He let his head drop, chin to his chest with an exhausted sigh. No one in the diner dared to say a word. Even poor Toothless hid in between his master's legs.

After a few moments Rapunzel gasped and everyone's gaze fell on her. She whimpered and cradled her wounded arm close to her chest.

"Rapunzel?"

"She's turning man!" came Flynn's panicked yell as he lifted his rifle to take aim.

"You raise that gun even an inch higher, you'll be dead before you hit the ground, got it?" Jack barked loudly and with equal gruffness. "Do I make myself clear?!"

 _He did..._ Flynn reluctantly lowered the weapon. But as soon as he did, the whole diner burst with high-pitched voices of the teens. Everyone seemed to be arguing about their own point on how to deal with the situation until one voice boomed louder than the rest.

"No, Damn it!" Jack barked, successfully shutting everyone up. "No one's killing anyone!"

"Then what're we supposed to do?" Astrid asked with irritation. This was getting them nowhere. She liked these guys, she genuinely did and she felt bad for them but this time Flynn was right. The only merciful way to deal with this was to end Rapunzel's life and possibly save her the agony.

Jack only took a moment to think about it before pulling out his keys and holding it out to Merida. "My car's up front, take it and get outta here. All of you."

"What about you?" Hiccup asked though he already knew the answer to that one.

Jack looked at him and ruefully smiled _. Like you don't know the answer to that one_ … He gave the brunette boy an _'I won't leave her even if she kills me for it'_ look.

Rapunzel, who understood the silent conversation, spoke up immediately; still clutching onto her arm. "Jack, no… Please, go with them. Leave me here."

He chuckles ruefully again and turns around. "You can't get rid of me that easily, Punz."

"Are you sure about this?" Jim asks. He knows it's not his place to make Jack's decisions for him. If staying here's what he truly wants to do then it's his funeral.

Jack looks at them dead in the face and right then, they knew that he's completely serious and nothing was going to change his mind.

"I'm staying too." Hiccup says suddenly.

"What?" Jack and Rapunzel both asked him. Jack sounding surprised while Rapunzel sounded distressed.

"I've decided that I'm gonna stay here with you guys," He repeats once more. _They freaking saved my life._ If it wasn't for them he probably would be died in some nameless convenience store by now or somewhere on the street. They were the first- _and probably the last_ \- real friends he's ever had. He won't abandon them when things got rough. That's not what real friends do. Besides, he didn't even thank her yet for saving his life, so you see, he **had** to stay. He then looked hopefully at Merida.

Merida switched her eyes from one best friend to the other before letting out an annoying huff. "Ya guys have some loose screws up here…" She said twirling her finger inches away from her right temple. But she was sure they got the true meaning behind those words. She was staying. Even though she didn't want anyone to know, deep down she knew she wanted to stay too. She was with them through thick n' thin; _as the Americans say… or was that the British…?_

Rapunzel stared at them like they just came out of the cuckoo's nest. "What is wrong with you people?!" She cried, jabbing both her fists at the ground. "You're all crazy, you stupid idiots!"

Rapunzel saw all three of her best friends grin stupidly back at her before Hiccup said. "Well, at least we're crazy idiots together then," She felt Toothless's soft fur brushing against her leg. The dog barked and looked at her with a happy doggie smile while wagging its tail.

With that Rapunzel sank back down with a frustrated sigh. But inside she couldn't be gladder. She knew it was selfish of her but she wanted her friends to stay with her. _Till the end_. She wanted all of them to be together until her last moments on earth. She didn't want to go through this inevitably cruel transformation alone. She wanted someone there to end it before it even begins. She was truly happy they were staying back for her but she still scolded them. _They were still crazy fools and were completely off their rockers._

"Then that's that," Jack then tuned and tossed his keys to Flynn who quickly snatched it from the air out of reflex. He smirked. "Take good care of her,"

"Won't you need a ride too?" Astrid asked. She looked apologetically at Rapunzel. "You know… _after_ …?"

"There's a Mustang out there, right?" Jack chose to ignore her _'after'_ comment as if he'd never heard it and just skipped to answering her question. He had seen the car parked neatly beside another haphazardly parked Ford. Astrid said the Ford had broken down, that was the reason he was letting them take his car instead. Jack anyway didn't plan on using the Mustang anytime soon. "We'll just hotwire it."

"Do you even know how?" asked Flynn with one eye brow raised.

Jack actually looked insulted by that. "What, you thought I'd spend all that time in the Juvie and not learn a thing or two?" He smirked. Come to think of it, he had learnt a lot of useful things while he was there, _huh, go figure_. Besides if he was leaving here then it would be with Rapunzel and his friends or not at all.

 _They **will** find a way to fix her… they had to!_

"Where ta heck did all those zombies come from anyway?" Merida asked.

"I told you there were a whole bunch of them when we came here. Not my fault you didn't believe me. They must've come alive again. They tend to do that, in case you didn't know."

"We do know," Hiccup said. "Which is why we're going to be locking them up in the cooler," _that way when they came alive again, they won't be a danger to anyone._

The other four teens stuck around long enough to help them drag, carry and stuff the zombies in the walk-in freezer.

Jack, Merida and even Hiccup went to help out too. But they didn't want to leave Rapunzel alone.

"Will you be alright?" Jack asked her.

She gave them a feeble smile. _No…_ "Yeah, go ahead. I-I'll be fine." She didn't want to sound needy. It's just that, she wanted to spend as much time as she possibly could with her friends before her life came to an end.

"We'll be right back." And just like that, they were gone- _but not forever; not yet._

They were back by her side before she could even miss them; which wasn't all true. She missed them the second they left but now they were here. The two teen gangs wished each other farewell and one of them left in the Chevy to the town's only exit while the other stayed behind at the diner.

Once everything was done, the four best friends sat at one of the tables in the main room. "So, uh… Now what?" asked Hiccup feeling unsure.

"Now," Jack sighed. "We wait."

* * *

I know this is a pretty short chapter compared to the others I'e wrtten but its sort of preparing you for the next. So... next time, come prepared. Lol.

 **SHOUT OUTS TIME!**

 **AvaniAcrux** : Lol, nah I get it! I do that too sometimes. Cause some authors *cough cough* take ages to update and you'll be like… hang on, what happened in the previous chapter again? So you wait for a few chapters to get with the flow. I understand. ^^ Thank you for the review though! It means a lot (especially coming from my regular readers hehe) (::)(::)(::)  
 **BoneKat** : ChaosKitten16 HI! ^o^ ( I hope you got the cookies Dreamer sent you ^^) Lol, that idea though XD I might have to steal that for future use (*evil chuckles to myself*) IT DOES GET LONELY! But worry not cause this sort of immortality is selective. So I can choose to die once I know my deed is done. AND YES CAKE! AND YOUR NOT SUPPOSE TO EAT THEM ALL AT ONCE! *gushes over you like Tooth* Save some for later, whydoncha? (::)(::)  
 **OneWhoDreamz** : Hmm… I suppose your right… But what if I told you your straining your mind too much. You need to step back and think simpler. ^^ Lol, Dreamer, you're really in for such a ride. YOU ARE SO CLOSE ON ONE OF THEM THOUGH UUGGGHHH I WANNA TELL YOU SO BAD! But spoilers though so you'll have to read to see which one of your theories it is. And as for the black bag I'll let you know, either story form or chapter form. Lol, fear not, you will know eventually. I LOVED THE REVIEW! Thank you! (::)(::)(::)  
 **Amaya-chan07** : Yes, Zombies equals death. How can it ever be avoided huh? Lol, but it's not the end yet. Not by a long shot. That's all I can give you right now I'm afraid. So just stick around, okay? (::)  
 **Unknown:** Thank you! Here's your update! Hope you liked it! (::)  
 **Infrared-Ultraviolet** : Oh yay! Your back! **C13:** I didn't include Pascal this time cause then it'll just be too many characters to deal with and it'll get kinda unnecessary. Maybe I'll include him in future fics. ^^ And now that you've pointed that out it does sound hilarious XD True, Punz is definitely an animal lover if the movie is anything to go by. She became friends with Max pretty damn fast after all. XD AND IKR! Who isn't sarcastic when they're annoyed amarite? Oh and the part that confuces you. I usually write the italics below the person I'm referring to. So you can kinda figure it out that way. I'll try to keep what you send in mind for the future chapters though. **C14:** I KNOW! I'm so cruel to Hiccup! Forgive me Toothless! IKR! Jack is bad-ass. I love characters who are all cold and tsundere idk kill me for I am the deepest trash ever. TRASH I TELL YOU! And okay, I'll try. Lol. **C15:** IKR! Tbh, Jack made the right call. XD And thank you! I hope I can keep the pace going and keep scaring you. And I have a weird thing with resourcefulness rather than Ex-Machinas, ya know? It just seems so overused these days. **C16:** I KNOW! So much angst. Also, I'm super happy you have such confidence in my character killing abilities. XD And your right. I'm pretty bad at writing romance stuff (if you can't tell already) so…. Yeah, plus, no one has the time to deal with love right now. SURVING FIRST! And ikr! I felt bad writing that line tbh, but Jack's been dealing with so much shit and crude remarks that he'd pick up something for someone along the way. Again, thank you! I shall try! **C17:** Lol, yeah. Poor bb. Will my torment for him never stop? Is it considered a spoiler if I explain the moon thing to you right now? I guess not… If you think it might **_THEN YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED SKIP THE ITALICS LINES RIGHT NOW:_** _Okay, so Jack seeing Emma's face in the moon is, in fact, metaphorical. Like, your brain has a way of making you see things that aren't there if those feelings are powerful enough. But as the worry and doubt and fear for her wellbeing begins to seep into his heart, he stops seeing her (in his mind.) So it's that type of thing. Jack keeps thinking he'll see Emma's face in the moon as long as she's alive and well. And now that he doubts whether or not she is, is affecting his ability to see her anymore. I hope that clarifies that._ And lol, OMG YES! Same. Like, "you. Yeah, you over there in that corner desk. I can tolerate you." XD Hang in there. The backstory is coming soon. Lol. Thanks for the review! (::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::) (A cookie for each chapter review and an extra)  
 **ava** : DO NOT WORRY! As I keep saying. I will never abandon a fanfic. Even if it doesn't get a lot of attention. Once I've started something I'll finish it. Please just bear with me. (::)  
 **Phoenix F** : YES! YES! HERE YOU GO! I'm going to hell for this. But its ok. Lol (::)  
 **Guest** : Yay! Thank you! I try my best! Hope you liked this chapter and I didn't scar you too much. Hehe. (::)

So thats it for now! I hope you enjoyed.  
 **Please leave me your comments cause it really makes me happy to read them no matter how small. ^^**  
Until next time!  
Byeeeeee!


	22. Chapter 21

**A.N:** Yo yo everybody! Its-a me! Mario! Lol jk. I'm sorry I started this long long-awaited reunion with such a terrible joke. I suck. I humbly apologize. And I also apologize for how long I've been gone... LIFE... Need I say more. But as I keep saying. I'll finish this story if its the last thing I ever do.

Also... little a tidbit that no one asked for... would it be too creepy if I admitted that Jack's dream was inspired by a similar one of my own. Sometimes my own mind scares the shit out of me. After I wake up, I'm like wtf brain?! Where'd the heck did that come from. That's it. No more scary movies for you before bed... then immediately it decides to go watch IT at 1 AM alone.

Now enough of my rambling, you must've heard too much of it already. Here is the next chapter. I HOPE YOU'LL LIKE IT CAUSE HO HO THIS ONE IS A DOOOSEY! BUT WAIT! Before that is ...

 **SHOUT OUTS!**

 **Daisy:** OMGOSH ME TOOOOOO! *combusts from fangirl overload* They are the bestest ever. So perfect. And thank you so much. I hope you're still with me. I'm so sorry for taking so long. Here's the next chapter and cookies! (::)(::)(::)  
 **Infrared-Ultraviolet:** **C18** \- IKR! Jack and responsible? In the same sentence?! Say it isn't so. But all in all… I absolutely loved writing Jack and Emma's still duo thing. It was so much fun. I'm glad you enjoyed it as well. 10/10 big bro characters is what I live for. *cough* Tadashi and Dean *cough cough* And YAY! I like that you agree with me on the Orange color thing. Honestly not many people appreciate the beauty of the color. And lol… I nailed it cause that's basically me irl. (Why do I say this to people so proudly I'll never know) And yeah… as for their sibling reunion… You'll have to wait and see. We're almost there. **C19-** OMG YAS! That's exactly what I was going for. It made me so happy reading those words you wrote about Jack needing to hear some reassuring words for once. And hahaha, you and me both, my good friend. Don't worry. All will be revealed soon I promise… Like really really soon. You wanted Hic's tragic backstory? Well here it is… Your welcome in advance. Dude! That thing where you said the crush and banging my head against the wall… I AM LIVING THAT EXAMPLE AT THE MOMENT CAN YOU EVEN IMAGINE IM DYING OVER HERE! For months now no less. *cries in a corner* **C20-** Lol yeah. I don't mind the ship but its not something I wanted to get into. I wanted the story to make sense in a logical zombie apocalypse way more than just catering to the audience. Lol, I'm sorry about the over-explainy bits. I never know if anything is too much. Even in real life my friends gotta be like WE GET IT before I actually shut up. Its kinda embarrassing. AND IKR! I think Jack and Astrid would make a kickass duo. And while I ship Hiccup with both Merida and Astrid. They aren't that strong and I didn't want to stray from the path that I've chosen for this fanfic. About the POV changes. I'll try my best to keep it to a minimum. It'll be a slow change though so please bear with me. And Punzie… Well… if your reading this shoutout before reading the chapter then… I apologize in advance for what I'm about to put you through. **C21-** ME TOO! Lord knows how I would react. Jeez, I don't even wanna think about it. And I get the thing with Jack. But given this backstory with his little sister… I don't see him as a crier… nor as someone who's first reaction is to panic, ya know? But I can easily see him throwing a fit and getting mad at how cruel and unfair the world is to him for taking away the people he cares about most. His sister, his uncle and now Punz. I donno why I feel it suits him. ^^ I still really appreciate you telling me though. OMG ME TOO! Can you imagine having to deal with that sort of shit on your own!? *shivers* THANK YOU FOR YOUR WONDERFUL COMMENTS AND THOUGHTS! I absolutely love reading and replying to them. (::)(::)(::)(::)(::)  
 **OneWhoDreamz: ** Lol, Jack was pretty scary there, wasn't he? Let's see a zombie survive against him then huh. And tbh… who knows what I mean about the little black bag at this point. Who knows… Maybe I am throwing you off… Maybe my words are exactly how I intent for them to be. Unfortunately (or fortunately) I know you'll have fun figuring it out either way and about the amputation thing… Personally I find that more horrifying than death. The thing is, if I was bitten by a zombie and someone had offered to cut one of my limbs off I'd rather die or be turned. I wouldn't wanna live the rest of my life being a liability to my friends or family during a zombie apocalypse where they'll probably have to sacrifice themselves at some point to save my worthless life. I'd rather spare them of that. I feel very very strongly against my loved ones suffering cause of me… and I guess when I decided to go down this path, a little bit of my insecurities bled into the story. I know its not a logical way of reasoning as to why they didn't do what they could've or should've done. But its my take on it. I hope its enough. ^^; Thank you for the review Dreamer! (::)(::)(::)  
 **Bauerriny:** OMG I KNOW! The title song alone! Jeez that beautiful wonderful guitar and all the emotions and nostalgia it brings. Thanks for reminding me about TLOU. SO GOOD! And of course I don't mind you re-posting the translated version of this. Please do send me the link to where it'll be going though. I'd love to check it out. And thanks a bunch for the sweet comment. (::)(::)

ENJOY!

 **ONCE AGAIN A BIG BIG THANKS TO ALL THOSE OF YOU LOVELY PEOPLE WHO ARE STILL WITH ME ON THIS AND HAVE BEEN PATIENT WITH ME AND ARE SUPPORTING ME! I LOVE AND APPRECIATE EVERY ONE OF YOU!** *gives you all a big sloppy kiss*

* * *

 **Chapter 21: I'll Never Let Go Jack.**

 _How could she be so calm about this?_

Is she not afraid of death? Or is it that she felt that life wasn't worth living in a world filled with dead things anymore…?

 _Well, now that wasn't entirely true, was it?_ They didn't know if the world is filled with zombies for sure, did they? It could just be the small town of Burgess that was met with this misfortune.

 _Their home…_

 _How did things go so wrong so fast_? Rapunzel wondered as she sat next to Jack. He had been sitting dead silent beside for a long while now; not even glancing at her. The weight of the gun he despised, resting uselessly on his lap. Not long now- will one of those bullets be lodged in her brain for all of eternity as she roamed the earth as a soulless, mindless creature.

She knew her friends wanted to do something to help her. Anything to help, but they all knew it was just too hopeless. They all seemed lost in their own thoughts. They did come up with a few possible solutions that could cure her but none seemed even the least bit feasible; plus they didn't have the resources to pull it off anyway. Most, if not all the solutions were devised from zombie movies and comics… _Yeah, cause obviously, those were the most reliable of sources to go on._

Where would they even _begin_ to search for a cure? Would they even know what to look for? Will they find it if they did? _Maybe_ , if they had had more time…

It's not that her friends were pessimists, they were just being realistic. And that's exactly why Jack now sat solemnly beside her looking as miserable as can be. As if the weight of the whole world rested on his slumped shoulders.

She felt horrible for asking him to be the one to do it. But she wanted him to… He needed to be the one. Her heart was screaming at her when he finally agreed to what would be her last wish. She felt an array of mixed emotions within herself. She didn't know how to figure them out. It was just too overwhelming. The feelings were not only for Jack but for her other friends as well; Hiccup and Merida.

Rapunzel might have been a popular girl in school, but she never really shared that special bond with any of her friends there. Of course, she knew many if not most of them hung out with her mostly because of her family's fortune.

But these three, they hadn't even spent a whole day with her and yet, here she was, sharing her last moments with them. And they're there for her; _comforting her._ God knows, she needs it. They keep telling her that things will alright even though they all knew it was a blatant lie.

Destiny had brought them together but it seemed that destiny was crueler than the devil himself; it brought them all together only to tear them apart again. Her heart ached at the thought. This would be her final moments on earth and her last moments with her best friends; she refused to spend in in grief.

And that's why; they now sat at one of the relatively cleaner tables of the messy diner, having breakfast like it was any other normal day. Merida and Hiccup sat on the other side of the table, parallel to her and Jack; laughing at the friendly banter, pretending for the sake of her sanity as well as their own, that nothing was wrong. It was merely an act to cheer her up; it would've worked too if it weren't for that persistent black aura around them.

 _But still… it was something…_

Hiccup passed some bits of breakfast under the table for Toothless while cracking a joke, Merida flushed and punched him playfully; careful not to hurt his shoulder. She smiled to herself as she took a small bite from the breakfast that Merida helped Hiccup prepare that early morning. It wasn't anything special but nevertheless, Rapunzel savored each bite as it would be the last thing she would get to eat before the overwhelming hunger for human flesh began.

She was aware of the fact that she wouldn't get turned into a zombie that very instant. Symptoms would show up first, just like it did with her parents… She wondered if she would know exactly when she'd turn into a zombie or if it was more of a spontaneous process.

They had discussed it earlier on, while she and Jack watched their other two friends prepare their morning meal and they had come to the conclusion that it would take hours, at least six before anything even happens. And the first signs to watch out for were fatigue and headaches. She wasn't feeling either at the moment so that was a good sign. _Maybe she dodged a bullet…?_ It was of course highly unlikely but still… _one can hope…_

They had all finished eating and were now sitting at another table. One that was closer to the front door and the broken window where the sunlight shone most. Toothless stood guard at the door; ears perked up at even the slightest of sounds.

"I wish we had a pinball machine o' a foosball table o' somethin'," said a _bored-out-of-her-mind_ Merida. The only thing currently keeping her busy was the knife in her hand. She was carving little stick men figures with bows and arrow onto the flat surface of the table. It was the same knife she had used to kill that zombie earlier with. She had decided that; the knife was an easier and also effective weapon to have with her. Not that she was ever planning on leaving her precious bow behind. No, she just thought it was better to have an addition to her little arsenal. She even had the perfect means to carry it.

She would insert the blade between the laces of her right army boot. The hilt will keep it from falling out and no one would get hurt that way _. Pretty cool, huh?_ Yup, she felt like one of those awesome super assassins on a mission.

"I know what you mean, even a deck of cards could keep me entertained right now." Jack sighed, leaning back in his chair, propping his bare feet up on the table, and clasping his hands behind his cool neck. His gun laid uselessly next to him.

"Or monopoly…" Hiccup chimed in innocently, then frowned when his friends looked at him like he had grown three heads. "What? It's a nice game." He muttered.

"Yeah, for a nerd like ya, it is," Merida cackled.

"A lot of people play it!" Hiccup defended.

"Sure they do, Hic." Jack snickered teasingly.

They talked for hours. Shared stories and traded tales from their pasts. They got to know one another even more. Jack, of course, being the most secretive of them all. He told them what he told Rapunzel on the rooftop. They pretty much had adopted the same look that she had given him. But he was less forthcoming when it came to his _'adventures'_ in Burgess. When it was apparent that he wanted the spotlight turned away from him, Merida picked up. She told them about her life in Scotland and all the fun she had there. Then finally, it was Hiccup's turn.

"Anyways, ya neve' told us abou' yer family," Merida questioned. She was curious to know how Hiccup's family was. _Were they as awkward as he is? Or were they the mean military types?_ For some reason, everything about Hiccup kinda fascinated her. His personality intrigued her and his mannerisms made her laugh. Even back in her homeland, she'd never met anyone like him.

"Oh… well…" Hiccup hesitated with a pause. Why was telling them about his past so difficult? It's not like they were going to change their opinion about him if he did anyway. _Was he ashamed?_ Yeah, that was probably it. Looking at Merida's bright smiling face, Jack's impassive gaze and Rapunzel's inquisitive look told him that wouldn't judge him. Plus it also looked like Rapunzel could use the distraction. He hadn't missed the way she had been wincing ever so often and creasing her forehead from time to time. So with a deep sigh, he just came right out and broke the ice. "I don't have a family…"

An echo of silence followed that sentence. No one said a word. It was definitely not what they were expecting. "You mean… you're a-"

"Yeah," Hiccup said; saving them the trouble of saying the _'O'_ word. "Toothless here's my only family,"

 **Bark! Bark!**

"I'm so sorry to hear that," came Rapunzel's whisper followed by Merida's apology. Jack, as usual, didn't say anything; but his eyes said it all anyway.

"It's okay, I mean it's no big deal, you know…" Hiccup shrugged uncomfortably; subconsciously rubbing his right arm. Speaking about this was harder than he imagined. _Please let this conversation end here. Don't make them ask me what happened_ Hiccup prayed.

"Wha' happened?" Merida asked.

 _Of course…_

"Merida!" Rapunzel scolded.

"What? I was just askin'," Merida shrugged dismissively and again faced Hiccup attentively; gesturing him to answer her question.

"Well uh… I um… never knew my real parents…" Hiccup said sadly with his eyes cast down. He refused to look at his friends till he finished his tale. "I know I was born in Brentwood, Pennsylvania and I grew up in an orphanage there…"

And that orphanage was nothing like the one back in Burgess. The building where he grew up in for the past few years was more of a home than any other ' _homes_ ' he's been in in the past.

Irene Humphrey was the lady who ran the little homely orphanage. Sure, she was angry and yelled most of the time but everybody in the orphanage knew she meant well. She took good care of them and changed into a completely different person when one of them was sick. She was kind when she had to be and strict when she needed to be. She had to be both because she wasn't married and had to take responsibility for all the children who lived there. For whatever reason, she hated the idea of marriage and thought it was absurd. She was one of those strong independent types. She was extremely protective of all the kids as well. Speaking of which, he wondered how she and the other kids were doing…

The kids who lived there were all much younger than he was. He was a lot like a babysitter than a friend to them. They never listened to anything he told them to do. They did look up to him sometimes though and listened to the stories he would occasionally tell them. He spent most of his time studying and his free time doing chores around the house. You could say, he was partially responsible for the little house too.

The orphanage where he spent the first few years of his life in Brentwood was like any other orphanage; they fed you, gave you an education, and then kicked you out when you came of age. Hiccup though wasn't fortunate enough to get kicked out as he was adopted before that could happen. And what's wrong with that you may ask…

 _A lot._

"When I was six, I was adopted by a couple named Bradley and Martha Fulton," Hiccup continued.

The others couldn't help but cringe at the harshness in the brunette boy's words when he spoke their names. It seemed so unnatural and out of place coming from Hiccup. He continued to tell them about the past that was better off forgotten.

He told them about how the Fultons' treated him in the first few weeks after the adoption. They treated him like a prince. Showered him with love and kisses. Bought him everything a little boy could ever want.

Life was pretty wonderful until the fifth week came around…

The second day of the fifth week is when everything went downhill.

Bradley Fulton was in the military; a marine to be exact. Word had come to his family that he was MIA and everyone knew what that really meant. Martha spent days crying her eyes out. She went into depression and soon couldn't get through the day without emptying four bottles of whiskey. She would just grab whatever she could and drink it all up.

She neglected her duties as a mother and refused to take responsibility for Hiccup.

Now, it didn't just stop with neglect… _no, it went beyond that._

It went to abuse…

Hiccup heard gasps coming from his companions. He still didn't look up at them. Just pushed on, he had to get this over with. If he stopped now, he didn't think he could ever say the things he said to them again.

Martha would come home from a hard day's work and spend the rest of her time and energy harassing Hiccup. It would sometimes even resort to beatings.

Hiccup lifted his shirt up with one hand to reveal the scars that remained on his stomach and sides after all these years. Merida stared wide-eyed completely baffled, Rapunzel had both her hands covering her mouth in shock and Jack remained as stoic as ever; except for his eyes, of course, they were filled with sympathy. He covered up the unwanted proof of his past by bringing his shirt back down again and reminisced his story.

Four years of constantly being ill-treated Hiccup was finally rescued by none other than Irene herself. She, apparently, had the knack to sniff out innocent needy children. She was an old family friend of Martha's and had come to visit them. The minute she stepped into what was left of the Fulton's household, she knew something was wrong. She had begun to visit them constantly after that until she found the proof she needed to save Hiccup and take custody of him.

With that, it went through all the legal issues and finally, Hiccup ended up living with Irene.

Irene then brought Hiccup back to her home in Burgess. It took Hiccup three whole years to get used to his new lifestyle. He from then on felt extremely insecure around other people and just didn't like hanging around them for very long. He even hated leaving the protective barrios of the orphanage. But then things changed over the course of the next seven years-also thanks to Toothless; his best companion and the most trustworthy too. And Hiccup is now the person you see today; _a lanky awkward seventeen-year old struggling through puberty._

"Aw, man. Hic, Am sorry 'bout all that." Merida now felt guilty for making him talk about his past. He didn't have to tell them; she shouldn't have forced him. It was none of her business. She felt anger rise to an unbelievable point when she saw the long scars on his body, no doubt inflicted by a belt.

"Hey, like I said it's no big deal…" Hiccup chuckled lightly. Like he had reminded himself many times over before- _It was all in the past_. That part of his life was over! _Amen to that!_

Only the physical scars remained but his mental scars had long ago faded away; thanks to long hours of therapy and Toothless.

"Don't feel sad, Hiccup," Rapunzel said with a soft smile. "We're here for you now…"

Hiccup finally looked up at his three friends and smiled. It seemed even Rapunzel had forgotten about the current horrid predicament she was in. And truth be told, he felt more confident about himself now that his friends knew his past. "You know what this calls for? A group hug!" _Okay, so I sound like a complete girl, sue me._

"Yay!" Rapunzel laughed. And then nudged Jack, who wasn't making a move to get up. "C'mon, please?"

"Ugh, do I have to?" Jack and Merida whined in unison then shared a _what-the-heck-was-that_ look with each other. He was glad at least he wasn't the only one feeling extremely girly in this situation. Well, except that Merida _is_ a girl… But she was less girly than any other girl he'd met.

"Yes!" Rapunzel forced them both and they all hugged. Even Toothless had joined in on the hug, nuzzling between their legs, wagging his furry tail in delight.

Jack felt seriously uncomfortable. He squirmed uneasily. It was weird at first but then he supposed it felt good- _in a weird way of course_. And to make things worse, his friends didn't look like they were letting go anytime soon. Merida didn't seem all the enthusiastic about the hug either, but she didn't look nearly as awkward as he felt. "Uh… Are these things supposed to last this long?" He shrugged away.

His three friends laughed at how red his otherwise pale face looked. _Great, Merida was going to call me 'tomato head' from now on_. Not that she needed any more nicknames to add to her long list already.

Everyone was happy and laughing and just for a moment, everything seemed alright. But the second that moment passed, everything turned a one-eighty.

 _All laughter and happiness shattered and disintegrated away._

Rapunzel suddenly clasped her bite wound and gasped as the startling pain hit her. She would have fallen to her knees if it hadn't been for Merida's quick reflexes. Her head felt like it was about to burst open and her body felt like dead weight. She slumped against Merida and Jack who gently lowered her to the floor.

"The antibiotic!" Jack yelled with a worried expression on his face.

"I'll get it!" Hiccup said already rushing to the first-aid kit. He pulled out the bottle and his frown deepened when he found that there was nothing left in it. "Argh! It's empty!"

"Gah! Wha' do we do now!?" Merida panicked; gripping Rapunzel's hand tightly. _Aren't people supposed to become warmer when they had a fever?_ But Rapunzel's skin felt almost as cold as ice; _she was freezing!_ The golden-haired girl was squirming and withering like a leaf.

They heard Rapunzel rasp out a reply. "S-salt wa-water…"

 _Right! Salt water kills bacteria_ … though now that the process had begun, not even salt water was going to save Rapunzel. But nonetheless Merida got up to go get the salt water without question or hesitation.

Of course, she had to first find the salt and then make sure she mixed it with water first- it wasn't the same as an antibiotic but it was something. And right now, they were out of options and it looked like they were out of time as well.

Hiccup would have gone to help Merida but with his still injured shoulder, he would only succeed in slowing her down. He knelt down next to Rapunzel and Jack and did his best to keep her calm. Even Toothless was trying his best. It's as if the animal understood the dire situation they were tangled in. He whined and licked Rapunzel's shaking hand to offer what little comfort it could.

Merida was back in a flash and slid to her knees in front of Rapunzel and placed the bowl filled with saline water beside her. She dipped the towel in and proceeded to dab the wound.

"Hang in there, it's almost done."

Rapunzel hissed in pain, She spoke up with tears in her eyes once the pain became at least bearable. "Y-you know, I w-wish I had magic hair so I could j-just wrap it around whatever hurts and s-sing a song t-to make the pain go away," She mumbled, trying to lighten up the mood and then shut her eyes when the second wave of agony coursed through her. "J-just one song to fix everything that's broken …"

"You have a really great imagination," Jack chuckled, playing along with her. "Someone should make a movie like that."

"What would the name be, I wonder?" Hiccup asked. He was quick to catch on to what they were doing and decided to join in; _for all their sakes._

After thinking for a few seconds Merida piped in too. "How 'bout _'Tangled'_?"

Rapunzel gave them a lop-sided grin, despite the pain she was in. "It's perfect…" She then groaned and began pulling her hand away from their grasp.

"Rapunzel, stay still…"

"I-I think something's wrong…" She felt dizzy, her headache had escalated to a whole new level and she was about to upchuck at any moment now. Her skin burned and it felt like someone was skinning her alive. "I c-can feel i-it…" Her voice faded and her body slumped in hopelessness and fatigue as she began to fall backward.

"Whoa! Hey…" Jack's cold hand caught her back and he gently lowered her worn-out body flat on the messy diner floor. Her eyes were shut and so he shook her and choked out. "Punzie…?" _Oh god! It's starting…_

Rapunzel opened her eyes slowly to mere slits after hearing the desperation in his voice. She could feel herself fading _. Gosh… is this what dying feels like? Is this what her parents went through?_ Her glassy eyes looked at her friends. They were looking worriedly down at her. It was breaking her heart as much as it was breaking theirs.

Hiccup and Merida sat next to each other on the right side of Rapunzel while Jack sat alone on her left. They exchanged panicked glances- not knowing what else to do. Hiccup looked at his watch… It was five thirty…? _Had they really spent that long talking about his past?_ Time had literally flown by them, hadn't it? And now, it seemed that Rapunzel's time had finally run out.

 _This is not supposed to happen this way!_ They were supposed to have more time. _Where the hell were the symptoms? The signs?_ Everything was happening too fast and all at once.

 _What's going on here? Why hadn't it followed the pattern? Were they wrong to assume the duration of the changing? Was it random? Was it different for every individual?_

 _Nothing was making any sense!_

 _Only one thing they knew for sure though…_

 _None of it seemed real up till now… The reality of the situation was like a hard sucker punch to the gut…_

 _Rapunzel was fading right in front of their eyes… and they couldn't do a damn thing about it._

"Damn it!" Jack suddenly burst out in anger. "We can't just sit here and do nothing!"

"There's not much else we can do…" Hiccup said miserably. They had thought about or at least he had and it seemed as though the person first has to die before getting turned into a zombie. It was more like common sense. The soul has to leave the body in order for a zombie to be born.

It was strange really, associating life with death- The two extreme ends of any living creature on this earth.

"Bullshit!" Jack bawled. "There has to be something!"

"There's nothing!" Merida cried out this time; in both anger and sorrow. She was just as pained as he was. She hated feeling such anguish fill her heart. She had never before experienced this kind of heartache before; the heartache of losing a friend. "We don' even know what tis virus is… or if it even is a virus. Where are we going ta find a cure?"

"I donno!" Jack yelled in frustration, spreading his arms to his sides helplessly. "But we… we can't just let her go… _I_ can't…"

After a long tense pause… "The only thing we can do for her now is… is just be there for her," Hiccup whispered. The flood of sorrow continued to flow and reached well over their heads; drowning them in sheer misery.

 _Rapunzel was fading fast…_

She looked like she was struggling to even stay coherent. She could feel her mind starting to shut down along with her body. She had to tell her friends the truth before she would no longer be a part of the living. The truth about how much she loved them and how grateful she was to call them her friends and for having the opportunity of being able to spend time with them; however short it may have been. "Th-thank you… for… everything, guys…"

"No, Punzie!" Jack scolded, is normally strong and confident voice cracking with emotion as agony filled emerald eyes opened and blinked lazily up at him. "Hold on! Don't close your eyes, stay awake! You hear me?! Stay awake!"

"Too t-tired, Jack…" Rapunzel whispered; her voice barely audible at all. "Jack, promise me that… when all this is over, you'll go back to your family because…" She sucked in some oxygen and continued. "Because I know, they love you… just as much as I do."

"… Please… promise me… you will." She weakly extended her hand towards him.

"I will." He choked out another sob and took her hand in his. "I will… I promise."

She took another deep breath and summed up all the energy she had left and turned to her other friends. "Thank you guys… for being there for me… until… the end…" And with that, her eyes closed; never to open again and her last breath left her body.

"No! Rapunzel!" Jack begged with his only two remaining friends, her fingers went lax in his hand. They were all begging for her wake up relentlessly until only his pleading voice echoed through the empty sad diner. "Please… Punzie… don't make me break my promise…" _The promise I made to protect you no matter what… don't make me break that… I don't think I'll be able to handle it…_

A hand on his shoulder made him look up at two sets of eyes which seemed to be reflecting the same sorrow he felt.

"She's gone…"

And those two words brought the whole world crashing down on his heart.

 _Rapunzel's gone…_

* * *

And that is it for this chapter... I don't think even a wall of Nokia phones is gonna protect me from you guys this time... *slowly backs away*

*Ditches wall and hides behind Jack* _No one would hurt Jack, right?_

 **Me:** Protect me, Jack!

 **Jack:** *snorts* You're on your own, kid. *Flies away*

Oh Jeez… Please don't hurt me… T_T

How about you leave me a **review** instead? ;-)

Well, you can't blame me for not trying, right? XD But seriously though, **R &R** to let me know what you guys think. ^_^ Its been a while and I'd love to know your thoughts.


	23. Chapter 22

**A.N:** **Hey guys. Here's the next update! Enjoy!** ****

 **And thanks for sticking with me and not giving up on me for so long. You guys really keep me going even in my dark times. I appreciate it so much. I love you all so much!** **  
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* * *

 **Chapter 22: Dead Silence…? Never Again…**

They sat still and silent on the cold floor of the ruined diner.

The skies were beginning to darken; allowing the magnificent moon to rise up and shine its brilliant hue on everything that was touched by it.

It was a light that was capable of lifting spirits… but it did nothing to lift up the spirits of the three lone teens.

Three friends sat together surrounding the still frame of a girl they had come to know and believe was one of their best friends.

 _Was_ … not _is_ … not anymore…

The stunning silvery moonlight shone on her ashen skin, her dark eyelashes caressed her pale cheeks; her golden locks swirled elegantly forming delicate ringlets on the white tiled floor.

Merida still held onto Rapunzel's cold hand; not having the heart to let go. Hiccup sat next to her with a dried up tear track on his right cheek; too doleful to rub it away. Toothless too nuzzled close to the blonde's shoulder; having given up on trying to wake her from her eternal slumber. Jack reached over and brushed a stray strand of hair from her face—remembering how Rapunzel always did that from time to time.

He solemnly picked up his gun; which lay beside him, cocked and ready to terminate the _evil-dead_ that she was about to become. He wasn't as naïve as he wished to be. Now that Rapunzel no longer possessed a soul, she could come to life at any moment; not as herself but as a _zombie._

This was their reality now and they would have to deal with it and move on…

 _Move on...? Yeah, right. Like that's gonna happen…_

They all felt utterly desolated and miserable.

Jack took aim; ready for the girl he'd come to love to wake up at any moment and pounce at him and go straight for his jugular. Merida and Hiccup both straightened their backs; realizing what Jack intended to do. It was inevitable. Hiccup pulled a scuffling Toothless close to him and hugged his little canine companion close to his chest as it whined.

The bullet would soon discharge from the colt only to kill her—no, kill _it_ temporarily but by then they'd be long gone from the diner. Putting everything behind them and pretend as though all this was just some kind of a hellish nightmare. It was all they could do.

 _At any moment now…_

They were waiting with bated breath and then… _It_ came,

 _The first moan…_

He should've pulled the trigger right then… _but no—not yet…_ Something was telling him to wait a bit longer… It was telling him that if he pulled the trigger now—He was going to regret it. He glanced at the other two for a split second and saw that they were just as anxious and agitated as he was; if not more.

A low moan escaped her blue-tinged lips once again as her head began rolling from side to side. The three teens stared in apprehension at their former friend.

 _Any second now_ , they were going to hear the distinct sound of Jack's gun going off.

Suddenly Rapunzel arched off the floor as she gasped for air. She was shaking as though she was having a seizure and then finally, her eyes abruptly flew open startling everyone and almost making Jack pull the trigger—but he _just_ stopped short when he saw bright lively emerald orbs instead of milky white ones. Her lips were no longer tinted blue but a lively pink instead.

They dumbly stared at Rapunzel as she hacked her lungs out. She rolled over and shakily propped herself up by her forearm while her other hand was holding onto her neck; she was still violently coughing and struggling to breathe.

Finally, it was all over and Rapunzel looked like she had caught a better hold of herself, but she still didn't move from her position.

She was shocked… and it wasn't just her either. _They all were…_

Merida spoke first seeing as the two boys, and Toothless, were too dumbstruck to speak. "Rapunzel?" She whispered. She actually wanted to yell, she wanted to freak out like she was on the inside… but this wasn't the time for that. She had to hold it together.

In response the golden-haired girl turned around slowly, looking just as stunned and surprised as they were. Three sets of wide eyes stared at back green ones which were just as wide.

Hiccup began to stammer unintelligible sentences; looking at Rapunzel as if he'd seen a ghost. _Maybe that's what she was now—when zombies can apparently exist, why not ghosts?_ Maybe she became a ghost instead of a zombie? "Wh-what the hell is going on?"

 _Yeah, that's what I'd like to know too_ thought Jack and he swallowed a lump in is throat before clearing it uneasily. But still he didn't say a thing; _he couldn't._ Everything just kept getting stranger and stranger. Is this how the virus really worked? After all, they had only come up with theories. It's not like they actually saw someone turn into one. If this was how it worked then it's just ridiculous, not to mention it was downright bizarre.

 _Everything about this situation just screamed weirdness…_

Rapunzel stared down at her hands first and then at the bite mark. It was still there, which meant she hadn't woken up from a dream or a nightmare. She really did get bitten by a zombie, she really did say her last goodbyes to her best friends; she really had _died_. But if that's true then what the heck are her friends doing in heaven? And if this was heaven why did it look like the messy diner she had died in.

"Rapunzel, is that… is that really you?" Hiccup asked again; finally finding his bearings. He couldn't help but ask that question.

"I think so… I mean, I feel like me," Rapunzel hesitantly nodded. It wasn't because she doubted that she was a zombie; _no_ , she knew she wasn't one. It was the fact that she had just died and had come back to life that freaked her out still.

"How do you feel?" Jack asked finally speaking up as he tucked away his gun back to where it belongs as he stood up; he left the safety off this time though. _Just in case._ "Can you stand?" He asked offering her a hand.

"Yeah, I guess," She said unsurely taking his hand and letting him lift her up. "And I feel… fine actually,"

"Oka', can someone please explain ta meh what the heck jus' happened?" Merida exclaimed; standing up alongside Hiccup.

"I donno, but we're gonna find out," Jack said sternly.

"How?!" Merida said out loud; her tone filled with frustration, enough to make Rapunzel and Hiccup wince even. "How are weh gonna find out anything when weh know nothing."

"I donno!" Jack yelled back with equal frustration. "We'll figure it out, okay… somehow…"

"Well, if we're gonna figure anything out, we need to go back to the basics," Hiccup said, rubbing the back of his neck. "When it started, where it started, how it started and who started it…"

 _And why it didn't affect me…_ Rapunzel thought to herself.

Then, the sound of honking distracted them from their temporary musing. The horn sounds was oddly familiar… _too familiar, in fact._

"No way…" Jack whispered.

"Now what?"

The four of them plus a very hyper Toothless hurriedly came out of the diner and stood next to the road on the asphalt looking down the long stretch of highway for the car that had produced the horn. And sure enough, they spotted the two blinding headlights, slowly getting bigger and bigger as it came closer towards them.

There was no mistaking it. It was definitely a Chevy… _It was David's car._ But why was it coming back? Had something gone wrong?

They waved to the car and as expected it came to a stop right next to the diner; all four occupants of the vehicle looked to be alright. Ariel was even giving them a timid smile.

"What're ya guys doing back here?" Merida asked with confusion as the other four teens got out of the Chevy.

"We couldn't leave town, the road's blocked," Jim said plainly. Not offering them anymore than that.

"How?" Hiccup asked. The long highway in and out of town was surely not blocked by _people…_ Or was it? _Were they being quarantined? Was the whole town being quarantined? Can they even do that? Did that mean the neighboring states knew what was going on here?_ A lot of questions rapidly raced through his mind.

"Some pretty big tree trunks have fallen onto the road," Astrid offered a simple explanation that would clarify their doubts altogether. A small portion of the highway passes through a forest where the roads curve before continuing back to the highway. That was where they had met with the problem. The road narrows down a lot, so if there's even a little block there, it would be next to impossible to go through it without help _._ No detours either. _Damn nature lovers! They should've cleared the forest out years ago._ The storm hadn't helped matters any. They were sure the cause for the trees falling over were due to that unexpected storm a few days ago. "There was no way we could move it or go around it; not with a car at least."

The others nodded in understanding. Burgess did have pretty thick forests surrounding it with only one road leading in and out of their little town; not to mention the lake that never ever dries up and is frozen for most of the year.

Everyone silently walked back into the diner.

Craaaaw!

Jack stopped and looked up at the roof of the dinner. Sitting there was that black bird again; cawing to the bright full moon. Its beady red eyes were giving off an eerie glint.

 _Jeez, why did he always feel like the black birds were following him?_ Ever since the time he moved to burgess he's always had the feeling like their beady red eyes were watching him; like they were studying his every move. Of course all towns have their fair share of birds flying around but this town? The birds from around here gave him the creeps. He involuntarily shuddered.

Everyone made it into the diner before the inevitable question arose "How much longer do you have?" Flynn threw over his shoulder to Rapunzel who still stood near the threshold of the diner. _Shouldn't she have turned into a ravenous monster by now?_

Rapunzel just blinked at him; opening her mouth to say something before closing it. She glanced at her friends. She was sure they could understand the silent question that was written all over her face. _Should we tell them the truth?_

"It's over…" Jack answered for her; stepping forward. "She's not turning into a zombie." Whether it was the truth or not—Jack prayed he wasn't lying this time.

"How come?" Astrid and Flynn asked at the same time. Astrid, out of curiously and Flynn, out of disbelief.

"We all saw her get bitten by one of those things," Jim spoke up this time. "Heck, she still has those marks to prove it." He gestured to the bite.

Rapunzel nervously covered the mark with her other hand; wishing that she'd worn a long-sleeved shirt or a sweater or something. Speaking of sweaters, she was actually feeling a little warmer now. Her head didn't even hurt anymore. She did feel a little tired though.

"Yeah… but trust us," Hiccup told them. "It's over."

"No," Jim said flatly and sternly. "Something's not right, you're all hiding something."

"I second that…" Astrid said; folding her arms over her chest and raising her eyebrow.

"What we told you was the truth-" Rapunzel started but was quickly cut off by Jim again.

"No, what you told us is the half-truth or maybe not even that…"

"Someone better start talking," Flynn said gruffly, pulling the rifle that hung over his shoulder into his hands.

Even though there was no hostility in his words or posture, they still understood the underlined threat there. The four friends exchanged glances with each other and nodded subtly. It wasn't like these guys were the enemy. There would be no harm in telling them the truth. So the group explained everything that happened to Rapunzel while they were away. After their explanation ended no one said a word except for the soft, almost inaudible whisper from Astrid. "What the hell?"

"Yah, that's what we'd like ta know too…" Merida deadpanned, leaning her back against the wall and folding her hands behind her back.

"She could still turn then!" Flynn cried.

"She won't!" Jack shot back.

"She might!" Flynn contemplated; his hands twitched unsurely while still holding onto the rifle. _What if she spontaneously turned and attacked them? It could happen at any time… They wouldn't even see it coming._ _None of them were professors in Zombieology, how can they be sure it's over?_ They didn't know how this virus worked. Maybe he should end this now and save them all the trouble. He brought up his rifle to take aim but stopped abruptly when he heard the _cli-click_ of a gun being cocked right next to his ear.

"You know, I really wouldn't regret putting a bullet through your skull right now," Jack growled with so much venom that it was enough for Flynn to drop the rifle to his side and step back a few. The silver haired teen had his gun trained perfectly on Flynn's temple. His eyes were so cold and daring that it gave Flynn the chills.

"Both of you stop it!" Rapunzel yelled; hands fisted at her sides. _Why were the two of them always so damn eager to take a life?_ _To kill someone?_ They were more similar than they'd be willing to admit, she realized. _Is that why she liked Jack so much? Because of her former feelings for Flynn?_ _The whole bad boy vibe?_

Flynn and she had dated for a while a few months ago before Rapunzel broke up with him only less than three weeks ago because of the way he treated the other student at their school. That led her to wonder about something else. _Was Flynn trying to hurt her because of his broken heart? Was he doing all this just because she had broken up with him?_ Now though, despite his futile attempts to kill her she still felt sorry for him.

Tension rose high in the room. It was almost palpable until, Ariel perked up suddenly as if she'd gotten an idea and tapped Jim's shoulder to get his attention. When he turned around to face her she signed to him. After she was done, Jim gave her an odd _'maybe'_ expression. She nodded and gestured for him to translate what she had said and he sighed. "Ariel says it might be because the zombie virus only works on adults."

"Excuse me?" Rapunzel asked, more than a little confused.

"All the zombies we've seen so far are only adults," Astrid shrugged. She and her gang had known about it for a while now but the blank looks coming from the other four told her that they hadn't. "What? Don't tell me you guys didn't notice…"

Rapunzel and the others glanced at each other once again. They hadn't noticed it then but now that they thought about, all the zombies that they've faced so far were, in fact, adults. Jack's uncle, Rapunzel's parents and the girl on the street, the cops who attacked Hiccup, the principle and the stranger at the artery where Merida practiced, the zombies at the grocery store, _heck_ , even the ones that attacked them in this very diner… every zombie they came across were adults.

Anybody younger seems to get killed instead of turned. The students at the school, the bullies, the dead bodies they saw on the streets and in the grocery store, the little brother of the lunatic who shot Hiccup. _How the hell hadn't they noticed that before? So did that mean Rapunzel was the only one who survived after being attacked and bitten by a zombie?_

And as if to answer that question Jim spoke up. "Rapunzel is the only one we know of who's survived after the zombie attacked her," _All the others don't seem to live that long right after, as the zombies chew into them like they were an all-you-can-eat buffet._ "Which doesn't actually mean she won't turn into a zombie… She still has a very good chance of turning into one…"

"Haha… guess we'll havta keep ya in a cooler from now on, huh Rapunzel?" chuckled Merida to make light of the situation. Well, at least it received a contrived smile from Rapunzel. Right now, she would take anything she could get. Fake smile was better than no smile at all… which was pretty much all she was getting from the others in the diner.

"Uh… That kinda reminds me," started Astrid soon after. "What's up with the whole zombies and locking them up in freezers anyway?"

Hiccup chuckled lightly. He and Merida had to hide in one and he hadn't felt more useless or liable in his life. He felt terrible and guilty for making Merida protect him like he was some sort of a baby who couldn't take care of himself. Sure, he didn't ask for it but she stayed with him anyway instead of helping the others out there. It was a damn freezer; he would've been alright by himself. Besides his shoulder felt much better now; he barely paid any attention to the pain. It was just a little sore."Oh that, it's because zombies can only sense heat signatures-"

"Don' tell meh you didn't notice that," Merida smirked at the other group who obviously didn't know about that.

"Well…" Astrid shrugged with a little embarrassment. "We didn't…"

"Wait, does that mean they can sense animals too?" Jim asked. Gazing at Toothless, who was busy chewing the hell out of a sponge. _Where did it get that thing from anyway?_

"Yes," Hiccup answered. Zombies can obviously sense animals. Back in Rapunzel's house when Toothless tried to attack the zombie, it sort of fought back. And it also explained how Pascal was completely unharmed when Rapunzel's parents had turned. If the zombies were just brainless hungry creatures then they wouldn't forgo even the tiniest meal. "But I don't think they're very interested in them, just us humans."

"Great," Flynn muttered. "Glad to know that we're the only ones on the zombie menu… especially a popular delicacy with the Rombies I'm sure."

"I… I'm sorry, _Rombies_?" Jack gave him an amused grin, with a raised eyebrow. _This is going to be good…_ he thought as he tucked his gun away.

"Yeah, the real dead zombies," Flynn said as-a-matter-of-factly.

"The real dead zombies?" Rapunzel repeated blankly. Still not understanding what Flynn was trying to say. _Weren't all zombies 'really dead zombies'?_ It's not like they were fighting fake zombies up till now, right?

Flynn gave out an annoyed huff. "Yes! Remember the extra fugly zombie that attacked you when you got here? We're calling them Rombies."

A sigh came from Astrid. "No one's calling them Rombies, Scooby-Doo."

"Aw, come on, Astrid!" Flynn whined. "Rombies are like the perfect name for 'em."

"Um… you mean the zombie that was hard to kill?" Hiccup asked trying to clarify things once again. He, just like the others wasn't able to grasp at what the jock was saying either. _And why the heck would anyone call them Rombies anyway?_ He wasn't all that aware about them since he was out of it for most of the fight but judging by what Jack told him— _it wasn't a pretty sucker._ Jack's words not his.

"Yes!" _Jeez! What? Was he speaking in French or something? Which part of Rombies don't these guys understand?_

"Ya mean ta tell meh we've been fighting clowns in zombie costumes up till now o what?" Merida asked. This guy better start making sense soon or she would have a knuckle sandwich waiting for him; just for being annoying.

"No…" Astrid butted in. Clearly, this conversation wasn't going anywhere and it was clearer that these guys knew nothing about the Rombies _… Oh great, now she started calling it Rombies too… Just great…_ "We came to the conclusion that the zombies that can't be killed, even temporarily, were the _'real dead'_ zombies. That typically means they are the ones that crawled outta their graves."

"How do you know that they crawled out of their graves?"

"We encountered one of 'em in Burgess, before the three of us made it here," Astrid explained. It was a man named Bruno Gray; an old man who died of a heart attack a few years back. _Don't let the brittle bones and liquefied tissues fool you_ —they had barely escaped with their lives that time. "And then the zombie you saved me from," She jerked her head in Jack's direction. "His name's Mathew McCoy. He was a criminal who got shot only a few months ago. You might've heard of him, it was all over the news."

"Oh yeah, I remember…" Hiccup said to himself; thinking back to the time when Miss Humphrey sat watching the news that night and he had snuck himself near the staircase just to get a peek at it. It was rare to watch TV so even the most boring shows became interesting.

"Bullets or arrows aren't enough to kill them," Flynn said. "I mean, it took us six head-shots and two body shots to just slow the sucker down!"

"Yeah, I noticed…" muttered Jack under his breath. "But decapitation works." He shared a knowing look with the blonde girl.

"So what do you think? These… Rombies or whatever are the ones responsible for starting this virus?"

"Could be… but if that's the case, then what made them rise from their grave in the first place is the real question…" Jim shook his head at the strangeness in all this. If it wasn't for Ariel he would've taken up his dad's offer and moved to Chicago years ago.

Ariel and he were childhood friends, he knew her very well and she hung out with him a lot. She was one of the kindest and brightest people he knew. And even though she couldn't communicate like everyone else, she was still the funniest person he'd ever met. She was also the one who made him believe in God again. She was the Reverend's daughter of St. Paul's Church. She did so much for him and helped him in so many ways that sometimes he wondered how he was going to repay her for all that she's done… And somewhere along the way he had fallen in love with her, though he has never told her about it; too afraid that it might ruin their friendship forever if he did. But maybe someday he would tell her… When the time is right and they were far far away from this hell-hole.

The gentle tapping on his shoulder made him turn to face the redhead once more. She signed a series of rapid hand gestures to him which he understood without any trouble. "You sure you wanna try it?" He asked her once she was done. She nodded with a smile, she might not be able to speak but she could still hear relatively well and she also knew how to lip-read. She had no problem understanding people.

"What's going on?" Flynn asked Jim.

"Ariel has a theory…" Jim began. "She wants to test something with Rapunzel; if it works the way she thinks it will then she'll tell us all about it."

"W-with me?" Rapunzel was caught off guard. What would Ariel want to test her for? What was the test gonna be like?

"Whoa," Jack stepped forward. "Punzie's no guinea pig for you to experiment on."

Ariel smiled softly at him and shook her head and performed another series of hand gestures to him which Jim instantly began translating out loud.

 _"_ _Don't worry, Rapunzel's not an experiment. It's just a little test, it might even help her. And help us too."_

"It's okay, Jack," Rapunzel said to him before turning to face the redhead. "I'll do it… uh… what am I going to be doing?"

Ariel wordlessly walked past them and went to the kitchen, within a few minutes she returned with a bowl of water in her hand. She placed it on the table near Rapunzel. Everybody looked on with curiously as Ariel removed her necklace and then placed it in the water in such a way that only the cross was submerged. They saw her chant silently for a while; her lips moving as she voicelessly repeated the mantra to the winds. After a while, she opened her eyes, lifted the soaked cross out of the bowl and once again wore the necklace around her neck. She then lifted the bowl and turned to Rapunzel and motioned her to hold out her hand.

"Like this?" Rapunzel asked as she stretched out both of her arms out in front of her. Exposing the zombie bite marks in the process.

Ariel nodded then began pouring the water onto the mark and to everyone's astonishment; especially Rapunzel's, the wound began to sizzle and pop.

Everyone's eyes were glued to the white steamy smoke that arose from the wound. Even though it sizzled and looked like it hurt Rapunzel didn't feel the pain at all. The sizzling soon stopped, Ariel poured the water onto the wound till the very last drop then placed the empty bowl back on the table beside her.

"Am I ta only one who has no clue what that was?" Merida asked; still not taking her eyes off of the bite mark.

"No… you're not the only one," Astrid said; mimicking Merida's expression as everyone else was. "We're all with you… Ariel, what exactly did you do?"

Ariel's looked at them with a straight face. She breathed in and began signing with Jim translation spontaneously so everyone could understand her.

 _"_ _I thought this might be the cause. We are not dealing with a virus here but a curse."_

"A curse?"

The word bounced off the walls and floated around the diner for a while.

 _"_ _The moment I saw that the undead creatures could not pass through the walls of my father's church I knew that they were unholy."_

"What are you saying?" Asked one of the teens grimly. Knowing the answer would not be a favorable one.

 _"_ _I'm saying that this wasn't a scientific experiment gone wrong. Someone used black magic to awaken the dead. The water I used on Rapunzel was holy water; if it was an infection then it wouldn't have had any reactions to it."_

Audible gasps could be heard from some of the teens. "So someone did this on purpose? But why? How?" asked Rapunzel.

Hiccup shook his head in dread. "I knew something was going on here… Something not normal… Something-"

"-Supernatural" Jack finished. It still didn't explain a lot though. But it was a start. Now all that was left to do was follow Hiccup's basic analysis process; _When, where, how and who…_ "Okay, does anyone know when all this started?"

"Well, as far as we know, people started falling sick right after that freaky storm," Astrid glanced at her friends for confirmation and then continued ."Now that I think about it, the signs have been around for days. People beginning to vanish of out thin air n' all but I guess the actual attacks started happening only yesterday."

"And people said it started in Black Oak's St," Flynn added. The place where everything bad always starts _._ That area itself was like a curse to their beloved town… especially since _the incident._

And that's when it hit Jack like a freight train. Suddenly it became all too clear. _Shit!_ How hadn't he seen this coming? How had he not guessed it the minute this whole thing began? The answer to who was behind this was so crystal clear for him now.

"I know who started all this…" He whispered distractedly.

Everyone's attention was instantly on him; eagerly waiting for him to tell them the person's name. "Who is it, Jack?"

Suddenly he felt like he was under a spotlight, his chest contracted and he swallowed a lump in his throat before he gave them the name to which they all gasped in shock.

* * *

There you go... I know... not one of my best updates. But I'm trying guys. I haven't been in the best of places recently (mentally i mean) Which is why I will be doing the **Shout-Outs** when I get better (I dont wanna give you some half-assed replies just for the sake of it... I wanna be able to give you my time and share my thoughts with each of you separately) I'm really sorry for the late updates. Leave me a review though cause it really helps show me that people out there are still reading the stuff I write. Again, thank you all for being here. I love you!

Unril next time!  
Yuki


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